HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark Recreation and Open Space Plan 1997Town of Ithaca
Park,
Recreation
and
Open Space
Plan
Full Report
Adopted by Resolution of the
Town Board December 12,1997
Town of Ithaca Planning Department
126 East Seneca Street
Ithaca, New York 14850
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Town of Ithaca
Town Board
Catherine Valentino, Town Supervisor
Carolyn J . Grigorov, Deputy Town Supervisor
Edward Conley, Councilman
Ellen Z . Harrison, Councilwoman
David L. Klein, Councilman
Mary Russell, Councilwoman
John P. Wolff, Councilman
Planning Board
Fred T. Wilcox, III, Chair
Eva B. Hoffmann, Vice Chair
James S . Ainslie
Gregory Bell
Candace E. Cornell
Robert Kenerson
Planning Department
Jona than Kanter, AICP, Director of Planning
George R. Frantz, AICP, Assistant Town Planner
Christine Balestra, Planner
Jo Ann Cornish, Planner *
Susan E . Ritter, Environmental Planner
* fonner Depanment staff member and Plan project team member .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Int ro du cti o n
Chapt er 1 : Goa ls and Obj ec ti ves
Chapt er 2 : Prev ious Park a nd Op e n Space Pl a nnin g
Cha pte r 3 : In ve nt o ry : Ex istin g Park and Rec reati on Reso ur ces
Cha pt er 4 : An a lysis: Ex ist in g Park and R ec r eati o n Reso ur ces
Cha pte r 5 : Reco mm endati o ns: Park and Rec rea ti ona l F aciliti es
Chapte r 6: In ve nt o ry : N atural and Op en Sp ace R eso ur ces
Chapt e r 7: An alys is : Natural a nd Op en Sp ace Reso ur ces
Chapter 8 : R eco mm enda t io ns: Op en Sp ace Reso ur ces
Chapter 9: Th e Cos ts and How to P ay Fo r Th em
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LIST OF MAPS
Map 3-1 : Ex istin g Town Park Sys te m
Map 3-2 : Ex istin g and Projec ted Conce nt rati ons of Deve lo pm ent
Ma p 5-1: Pro pose d Futur e P ark s and Bi cyc lefP ede str ia n Pa th s
Map 6-1: Majo r Publi c and Pri va te Open Spa ce Reserva ti o ns
Map 6-2: Co unt y Des igna ted Uniqu e Na tur al Ar eas
Map 8-1 : Pro pose d Zo nin g Fo r Op e n Spa ce and Pu rc ha se of
Dev el o pm ent Ri g ht s T arge t Ar eas
2
4
7
2 1
33
5 1
58
60
67
11
17
34
52
54
62
LIST OF FIGU RES AND TABLE S
Fi g ure I : Ex i st ing T own Park s a nd Faciliti es 8
Fig ure 2 : Ex isting No n-T own P a rk s and F ac il it ies 9
T ab le 3-1: Schools With Rec reat io nal faci lit ies in th e T ow n 12
T a ble 3-1: Po pul at io n By Age : New Y ork Sta t e, T ompkins
County and Tow n of Itha ca, 1990 19
T a bl e 4-1: Local pa rk Ac reage vs . NRP A St a nd a rd s 2 1
T able 4 -2 : T own M a inta in ed Ac t ive Recreati o na l F acilit ies vs . NRPA ta nda rd s 23
T ab le 5 -1: Reco mm e nd e d N u mbe r of T own Ac t ive R ecreati o na l Faci li t ies 43
Tab le 9-1: Prop osed Future Park s, I mprove ment s a nd Est im at ed Co t s 69
T ab le 9-2 : Future Bi cyc le/P e destri a n P at hs and Estim ated Cost s 7 1
T a ble 9-3 : Estimated Cost s of S o me Pa rk Co mp o ne nt s w ith D o nati o n P o t e nt ia l 79
Tabl e 9-4: Anticipate d Costs o flmp le me nt in g P la n, B y Pla n Co mp o ne nt 86
INTRODU CT ION
Th e Town of IUla ca is a diverse and pr os perou s co mmunil y we ll known for il s sce ni c natural bea uty. Guid ed by Ih e
initia l 1977 Park a nd Open Spa ce Plan a nd it s 1 9~4 updat e, th e Tow n ha s beg un to deve lop a network of
ne ig hborh oo d parks and recre ation al trai ls. Th e popUl atio n oflh e Tow n of IIha ca has grown s ignifi cantl y si nce
th ese earl ie r plans. maki ng it necess ary to reassess th e rec reali onal opport.unit ies avaii <.lbl e for res id e nt s now tln d in
Ih e co min g decH des .
Pr ov idin g fo r th e rec reati ona l nee ds of co mmuniti es , once co nsid ered a lu xury . is now co nsid e red a necess ity in
muni cipa l bud ge ts_ Orferin g cit ize ns a v<lr ic ty of (]cli v il ies for relaxa tion and g rea te r ph ys ica l and me nt al we ll -
bei ng co ntri but es sub stantiall y to the ge neral hea lth and we lfare of t he co mmuni ty . T he changin g demog raphi c
profil e oftoday 's res id ents includ es a growin g popu lat io n ofrclir cd res id ent s wi th large bl oc ks oflim c dedi ca ted to
th eir ac ti ve li fes tyles . T he predomin ance of L wo~caree r famili es ha s also ge nerated a sub stantial nee d for orga nize d
child ca re pr og rams th at pr ov id e safe and cre:"I tive rec re ati onal outl cts for "Iatchkey " children who arc left alone HI
Ih e end of th e sc hoo l cla y.
Pr eserv in g open spa ce, sce nic and cnvironm cnL<l1 reso ur ecs enhan ces th e uniqu e charactcr an d hig h qualit y of life
in ou r tow n. Pr ov idin g for th ese imp ort ant resou rces mu st be a priority in the fu tur e. "Ope n space ," for th e
purp oses of th is plan , refers to th ose land s in the Tow n of Itha ca th at arc eith er pr edominantl y und ev el oped i n their
natural state, or minim al ly di sturb ed workin g landsca pes such as agr icultur al fi el ds. pa stur es . orchard s or
vin eya rd s. Op en spa ces ca n be a ny s ize and provi dc a va ri ely ofbolh publ ic and pri va te be nefil s, includin g
prese rva ti on of impor tant str eam s, wi ldlife hab itat s (]nd co rridor s, thr ealc ned agri cultunl l land s, cultu ral, and
hi stori c reso urces . Other important targe ts for prese rvat ion in clud e open areas Hnd gree nwa ys betw ee n and aro und
ex istin g and futu re res ident ial , comm ercial , in stitut iona l , ;.ln d ind ustr ial deve lopm ent. It i s also vita l to rcserve the
sce ni c be auty Ih at enri che s our da y-to-d ay expe ri ences Hnd perm elli es our qu ali ty of life.
T hi s plan reassesses the T ow n's rec rca ti ona l go als se l forth in th e 1977 and 198 4 plans to acco mm odate th e cur renl
res id enti al demog rap hi cs and th e ant icipat ed futur e pop ul ati on changes in the Town . Usin g th e ex isti ng sys tem of
park s, tra il s, ope n spa ces , and sport fa ciliti es i n th e T own of Ith ac a and surroundin g muni ci palit ies , thi s plan put s
forth an inn ov ati ve and cost ~e fTeclive in teg rat ed network of recreat ional fa ci liti es for T own rcs idenl s. In the
co min g deca des , we mu st place a pr cmiulll on re se rvi ng th ese imp ort ant eco log ica l and rec reationa l areas , whil e
chann elin g g rowth to th e a reas mOSI appropriale for res idential develo pm ent. It is esse nti a l !.hat ope n space
co nse rval ion effo n s pr ocee d des pit e fi sca ll y cha ll e nge d tim es. O nce land is devel oped, it se ld om reve n s 10 ils
fa nn er eco l og ical, histor ica l, and sce ni c co ndi tion. O nl y by ma k in g co ncrete po li cy decis ion s now can th e T ow n of
I th aca ensu re so und eco nomic growt h Hnd deve lopm ent , and a co ntinu ed hi gh qu ali ty of li fe ror its res id ent s.
CHAPTER I
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
2
Introduction
T he ba s ic principl es of thi s rev ised pa rk . rec rea tion , lind open sp<l ce plan are prese nt ed in th e followin g gOcli s lind
objec tives . Specific rec omm e ndation s for th ei r impl e ment ation arc put fonh in Chapt er 5 and Chap ter 8. Des igned
to bTl lide lh e Town as it carrie s Ollt thi s plan over the co min g two dec ad es, th ese goal s and objec ti ves will se rv e as
benchmark s aga in st whi ch th e Town ca n meas ure it s pro g ress .
Goal I.
Provlrle (Ill integrate,1 system of parks, re creation,,1 facilities, alld open splice throug hout Ih e Tow", with
linkages b etween tr(/i1 ... ~ pflrk.ti, preserves, ,,.tremu corridors, {Inti utility rights ,,[ways.
Objectives
Goa l 2.
Initi ate a pro gra m for lOe tHin g and deve lopi ng a cos t-e ffec ti ve network of public park s to se rv e th e pr ese nt
a nd futur e nee ds of Town res id ent s.
ESL,1blis h a coo rdinated pro g ram to prese rve e nvironm e ntall y se nsiti ve land a nd imp on a nt sce ni c areas in
th e Town of Jtha cH.
En sure adequate publi c access to th e rcc reatio l\Hl reso ur ces of Cayug~ La ke .
Des ign a sys tem of oIT-road bi cyc le a nd ped es trian trail s to co nn ec t ex ist ing and futur e Town park s wit h
res id ential neig hborh oods , commercia l dis trict s, and pla ces of work .
Coo rdinat e th e devel opm ent of the Town 's park, recre ation , and gre enway sys te m and fa ciliti es wi th t he
effan s of surroundin g muni cip ali ti es.
Maintain a co ntinu ous network of wildlife h,abitat s and rese rv e co rrid ors for wild life mi g rati on.
Provilie for adequate recretltimtlli services lor all To",,, reside"ts.
Ob.iectives.
En hance th e enj oymen t of th e Town 's spe cia l chara cter and uniqu e features and pr omot e the app reci ation
and pre se rvati on of the coun ty 's important educationa l, e nvironmenta l, hi stori cal , and cultural areas .
Provide rec reation al and ed ucati ona l oppo rtuni ties for peo pl e nea r th eir homes i:lnd wo rk pla ces.
Goal 3 .
Deve lop an int erco nn ec ted network of tow n par ks clnd tm ils to pro vid e active clOd pa ss ive rec reat iona l
opport uniti es for all Town res id ent s .
Ensur e to th e greates t ex tent pra cti ca ble co mpli ance wi th th e requir ement s and spirit o r th e Amer i ca ns
With Di sa biliti es Ac t of 1990 a nd il S s uccesso rs .
Pro vid e a co mpr ehensive yea r-rou nd pro gram of ba sic rccTCiili onal activi ti es and fa ciliti es for all Town
res id ent s.
Maxi mi ze inl cT muni ci pai coope rati on (lnd partn e rship s between lh e publi c i:lnd private sec tors to deliv er
hi gh quality rec rea ti onal se rvi ces for TOWIl res id ent s.
Imp rove th e environment and preserve and protec t it/rom d eg radation.
Objectives.
Protec t natu ral resou rces, se lected o pe n s pace , e nv ironm e ntall y sens iti ve areas a nd uniqu e natural
areas .
Pro tect wate r a nd a ir quality and minimi ze impac t s from e rosion, sed imentati o n a nd drainage.
Ens ure a fa ir di s tr ibutio n of th e cost s a nd b enefi ts o f open s pac e .
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4
CHAPTER 2
PREVIOUS PARK & OPEN SPACE PLANNING
Town of It haca Park a"d Open Spa c e Plmr (1977)
The fir s t TowlI ofllil aca Pa rk and Open 'pa ce PIOII , co m pleted in 1977, establi s hed a permane nt pa rk co ns tru cti o n
and maint ena nce pro g ram ill th e Town . Thi s pl ,ln se t forth po lici es e mp owe rin g th e Plannin g Boar d to reco lllm end
accept a nce of indi vidua l pa rks to th e Town Boa rd a nd p a nic ipa tc in th ei r desig n and la nd sca pi ng. It o utlined
neighborh oo d pl-lrk nee ds, opp ortuniti es for neighb orh oo d par ti cip ati on) and legal mec hani sms to fund (lIld
imple me nt th e pla n . Aft e r park s arc acce pt ed by the T o wn Boa rd , th e Town 's Pa rk s De pa nme nt is res po n si b le fo r
th e park 's developm ent and maint enance .
The 1977 Park ond Open Space Plan in s lituted the fo ll owin g T own of Ithaca po lic ies :
· Pa rks a nd o pcn s pace s ho uld be deve loped fo r Ih e be ne fit of lo wn res id e nt s . The Planni ng Boa rd will d ec id e Ih e
size of Lh ese park s and th e types of rec reati onal fa cili ties (lVa il {lbl e and reco mm end acce pt ,Hl cC or pur c hase of th ese
open areas, if necessary , to th e To wn Board .
· A firm fin ancial co mm itm ent is necessary to deve lop parks and open spaces in th e Tow n. Sta le and Federal fund s
s hould be use d fo r Ih is purpose whe n eve r poss ibl e .
· Upon Plannin g Bo ard reco mm endati on, up to 10 % of lh e hl nd to be deve loped within a subdi vision can be se t
as id e for pHrk s in th at area. A ltern ati ve ly, finan cia l donat io ns (c Hl culat ed at fair mark et v<l lu e) will be acce pt ed in
li eu of l and to prov ide open spa ce ar eas i n eHe h popu lati on cc mer. Pcr th e requir ement s of Sec li on 277 of T ow n
Law , lh ese flllld s will be pla ce d in a gen eral fund and lI sed onl y 1.0 acquire land , equipm ent , or maint ain the par ks
in th e neighborh oo d where th e fund s were deri ve d ..
· A bud ge t will be eS la b lis hed 10 adju st fo r th e yea r ly Ou elu a ti o n in fund s nee ded to purc hase and maintain pa rk
la nd .
· Res id ent s should have access to neighb orh oo d pl ay lOI S, ar ea park s, reg iollHI park s, and und eve loped open spa ce
th at is access ib le fr om at least one publi c str ee t with out cross in g pri vate land . (See "'ide bar.)
TIMII of ItIlllell Park IIIIt/ Op ell Splice PIIIII Upt/llte (1984 )
In 1984 , Ih e T ow n Boa rd a pproved the Town of II II aca Park and Opell Space Plan Updare Ihat rcOec te d th e
changin g rec rea ti onal nee ds ortowl'l res id ent s. The 1984 Plan inve ntori ed U1 C ex istin g park land and introdu ced
bik eways an d rec rea tio nal trail s as imp ort ant rec reati onal asse ts. Pri oriti es orlh e 198 4 Pltlll we re:
· Co ns tru c ti o n of bike paths th ro ug h o ullh e town in coo rdina t io n w ith bikeway deve lop m e nt by th e Ci ty a nd th e
State .
· Eswbli s ilin e nl o f area a nd neighbo rh ood play lo ts o n SO lllh a nd West Hill s .
· Deve lo pm e nl of an a rea park in Ih e ln le l Vall eyl E lmira Roa d a rea .
In Ih e scve n ye <lr s betw ee n th e ori gi nal 1977 Plan and th e 198 4 Update, six parks and 3.65 mil es of bik ewa ys and
rec rea ti onal trail s were establis hed by Ih e Town . T hese fa cilities are lo ca ted in th e No nheas t a nd Eas t Hill ce nt crs
of grow th .
5
Toge th e r,th c 1977 Town of Ith aca Park and Open pa ce Plan a nd th e 1984 Pla n Update guid ed Ih e Town 's
dev e lo pm ent o f a park s and rec reat io n pro gram over th e I<l st two decades. Foll owing a trHdition of long-te rm
co mpr ehe nsive plannin g, it is aga in lim e t.o rea ssess th e prog ress of thi s develo pin g park sys te m and r ccv~ltl a l c th e
rec reat ion al nee ds of our res id ent s.
Six Mile Creek Va lley: A H eritage 10 Preserv e (\990)
In 199 0 the Town of Ith aca Co nse rvati on Adv isory Co un cil, pred ecesso r of the Co nservat ion Boar d , produ ce d th e
report ix /V/Ue Creek Va ll ey: A lIeritage (0 Preserve . It co ntain ed a numb er of reco mm end at ions for bell er
pro tec ti on of the inn er ar eas of th e Six Mil e Creek va ll ey adja cent to and includin g th c go rge, Mulh oll and
WildO owe r Preserve and Cil Y Wat ers hed la nd s. They includ cd :
es tabli shm ent of a new Co nserv ation Di stric t zo nin g di str ic t in the va ll ey to redu ce deve lopm e nt potenti al
to uses and leve ls of ifll e nsity morc suited to th e enviro nm e nt al se ns ili vit y of th e area:
esta bli s hm ent ofa bllrIcr zone wi thin the co re of th e va Hey to dire c t deve lopm e nt awa y from th e go rge
area it se lf;
es tabli shm e nt ofbctt er co mmunication s Cl nd coo pe rati on betwee n th e City of Ith aca and Town of Itha ca o n
matt e rs concer nin g manag in g and protec tin g th e e nvir o nm c nta l and ope n spa ce reso urces of th e valley .
in cludi ng land acquisi ti ons and managi ng publi c access ;
es tabli shm e nt of a mec hani sm through whic h th e Tow n of Ith aca can accep t cO ll sen /ali en easc ment s rrom
la ndh o ld ers in Ih e va ll ey .
The Town has fo ll owcd through 0 11 a numb er of Ih e reco mm endation s of Ih e repon . In 19 96 th e Town Board
creHt ed a Co nse rvati o n Di stri ci zo nin g di stri ci a lon g th e lines rc co mm e nd ed in 1990 a nd applied it to th e illn er
areas of th e v(li ley . In additi on, th e Town and City have in creased th e leve l of co mmun ica tion an d coopcnllion in
Hddressing iss ucs related to th e prot ec tion of th e inn er co rc of th e va ll ey , includin g Cily acq uisition of additional
land for wate r qua lity proleclion an d publi c ope n space . Also, s in ce 1990 tw o landowners in Six Milc Creek
Valley have g iven co nse rvati on casc ment s to Ih c Fin ge r Lakes L;H1d Tru st. Lat e r in thi s docum cnL , l:lppro xim atcly
290 ac res of land within th e va ll ey a re reco mm ended for in c lusion in a purc hase of de velo pm e nt rig hts prognli ll
through wh ic h th e T own of Ith aca wo uld ::l cquire conse rv ation or agri cultur al ea semen.ts from la nd O\,vners willin g
to se ll or donate t he m .
Plmming /or Agriculture in tir e Town ()f Itha ca (199 2)
In 1992, th e Tow n o f Ith aca Co nserva ti on Boa rd ad op ted poli cy rec ommend ati ons a nd impl eme nt a t ion mCH sures
sup port in g th e pres ervatio n of ag ri cultural lan d in th e Tow n. T hese re comm e nd mio ns are d isc ussed in deta il in its
1992 report Plann ing fo r Agri c ulture in th e To wn of Ithac a. T hes e po li ci es m e int e n d ed to ens ure th e lo ng te rm
pr esc rv cl tio n of t he Tow n 's a gricultu ra l la nd res ources Ho d e nh a nce th e eco nomi c viabi lity of it s fa rms.
J 992 Opell Sp ac e R eport (\992)
In D ece mb e r 1992 th e Town of Ith ac a Co ns ervatio n Ad viso ry Board co mpl eted a n i n ve nt o ry a nd m ap o f op e n
s pa ces wit hi n the Tow n of llh Hca . T he re po rt d esc ri bes a nd ind exes a ll ope n a rea s i n th e T own. based on
s ig nifi ca nt ecolog ic.:1l, c ultura l a nd hi s tori ca l featu res. The o pe n a rea s in ve nt o r ie d in cl u ded a ll unde ve lop ed la nd s
c h ara c te rized by a re lalivc ab se nce o f s tmctu res. T h ey incl ud ed farm s , ce mete r ies. p la ygro un d s, go lf co urse a nd
park s in add iti on to the wood la nd sJ meadow la nds a nd wet la nds th at t ra diti onall y qu a lify as "un developed ope n
space ,l>
6
T he 1992 Op en S pace R epor t e mph as izes t he impo rta nce o f pro tec tin g o r prese rvi ng s ig n ifi cant eco log ica l,
c ul tur a l or hi sto ri c fCiHur es wiO,i n th e la ndsc ape . T he da tabase a nd ma ps within it dcpi c i the imp on a nt remur es as
we ll as num e rous ope n areas th<.lt hav e bee n se t a s id e rro m s ub div ision plats , publicl y ow ned ope n a reas, <Ind any
ope n a reas known to be pro tec ted by pri vate individu a ls or o rg a n iza tio ns .
CHAPTERJ
INVENTORY: EXISTING PARK AN I) RECREATION RESOURCES
Introdu ction
T he Town o f It haca 's park nec ds arc served by a vari e ty o f bo th p ri v3l e a nd publi c faci liti es. Tili s cha pl e r
in ve nto ri es th e ex is tin g To wn par k fac iliti e acco rdin g to th e Na ti o na l Rec rcmi o n a nd Pclrk Associm ion (NRPA)
class ifi cat.i ons f or close-fo-home, r egiona l , and uniq ue spa ces and identifi es th e agen c i es r espo nsib le for their
deve lopm ent a nd mai nt enance . In (ldditio n, th e water-or iented rec rea ti ona l fac ili ties and rec rea ti o n serv ices
aW:l il a bl e to Town res id e nt s arc a lso rev iewe d . Fig ure 3-1 a nd Fig ure -2 s ho w th e pa rk and recrea ti o na l faci liti es
ava ilab le to Town res id e nt s. A co nc lu din g di sc uss ion of p roj ec ted futur e tr e nd s i n po puhlti on, la nd usc, and
tran sporta ti on sys te ms co mp a red to th e NRP A sta nd ar ds co mpl etes th e cha pte r.
I. CLOSE-TO-HOME SPACE
C lose -Io -Hom e 5 1)"CC: Town P"rI,s
T he Town e fhh aca Park s Depa nmc nt ma inta in s a sys le m of "c lose-lo -h o mc s pace" co ns istin g e rnine
NA TION;IL RECRE A nON li N D I';UIK IiSSO CI A nON S'l i I NDARJ)S
T he Na tio nal Recre a tio n an d Pa rk Assoc iation (NRPA) is I:l nationwide no nproJit orgu nizlltion that prov idt!S rescarch lind
s upport services to mu nicipa l it ies, n .. 'C reation specia l iSIS, pa rk omduls, und the public . The NRPA's Recrention, Park and
Opcn S pace Sta ndards and Gu ide lines prov ide guidance on the app ropriate levc ls ofpurk and ope n spacc develo pm ent for
co mmu niti es na tionwide. Recog ni zing th e un iqu eness of I!very v il lage , town , cit y a nd cou nt!)' -with their dilTeri ng
so cio!!co ll omic , dimut ic, gt:ogw phi c, ll nd cultu ru l chuflIch.:ris tics -th!!s!;! standards shou ld be use d as a gui de rathe r limn a
rule . Whe n co mbined wit h 10CH I de mographic da tu, la nd use trend s ami fu ture growt h expectu tio ns, th ese sbm dard s provide
a usefu l rram ework for ussess ing the purk , recrclI ti on , un d ope n space needs of mun icipalities . As a ba se line , NRPA
recommen ds t hat !I co re sy~tem of pa rk la nds co ns i:as of 6 .25 to 10.5 acres per 1,000 peop le.
T he NRPA classi fi es rec rl!ll li oJl al space into three majo r cl.Itcgo r ics : CIOSC ~lo·l-Io m e Splice (neighborhoo d, co mmun ity or
area , sc hoo l, Hnd mi ni-purks), Regio nal Space (sUi te pm 'h), an d Un iq ue Space (lin cur pa rk s, tra il s, ~lIld wa lk\vays).
C losc-to-Homc Space -Par ks wi Olin easy wa lking distance a rone 's home (one -half mile or less) that serve parL~ or all oru
neighbor hood , inclu d ing mini -par ks, neig hbor hood park s , and commu nity or i.lrca park s.
Rcgiunlll Silac c -Pa rks se rvin g several com mun iti !;!s 100:aled within H one hour radiu s. Fac il iti es ge ncru \J y include
swinuning, bon ting, lis hing, cam pin g, hiking, and pi cnicking . In addi tion, nut uw l re so urce s s uch as lakes, \Vutcrfulls ,
Icrests, and str!!cuns lire manugcd for both pu blic usc und for conservat ion.
Uniqu e Sp::u:c -Opcn space re so urce s ll sed lor uctivc rec reat ion or thut co ntr ibu tes to the natural integri t y ol'the la ndscape .
O pen space reSQ urc!!s in clu de <tgr icult ura ll ands , unique geo log ica l fea tur es , ~n v ir on.menta ll y sensi t ive urca s, "nd pJ ~ce s
wi th sct!ni c vu lue. The linear pa rks , lr ail s, and wa lkwuys ure popular co mmu nit y fac ilit ies used for joggi ng, w!ll ki ng , bik ing ,
horseback riding, and cro ss cou nt ry skii ng. Olh er opt::n SPI:lCI! reso ur ces s li ch as agr icultum llands , uniq ue geo logic Je<.tt uf< .. 'S,
envi ronm ent ally se nsitivc a reas, a nd sce nic vicws hed s define th e naturu l st!lti ng of com munities . Euc h type of un ique space
requires dis tinct ly d ilTcre nt approm:hes lor acquisi tio n, d~vdopmcnt , tlll d prC scrvtltio n,
7
r luUKe I . ~ .. " ~ ,. .. =-' !D ,. ;; ~ ;; ;:; · ,. .. " .. ;;; N N N N N N N N N N U P ~ .. " ~ ,. !" " .. ,. p
EXISTING n " :J1 z ~ ~ z ~ ~ ~ l n • • r • " 0 m 0 m ~ < ~ ~ m ~ ~ ~ m n '" " a '" ~ > > n
Q. >. C ~ ,. ~ , ~ • n • • 0 0 • ~ • " 0 • • , • 0 ;~ 0 , n C • ;; • n • ~ a • , ~ , • • • < ,. n C ,
• n r , ;; D , • • • r ~ ~ n ~. , • ~ ~ r , ~ ; ;! n
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~ ~ " n • ; " " • a
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PARK S B ~ Q. 0 ~ 0 Q. n • 0 • ~ • , • ~ · ~ E . c . • ~ • 0 ;; , E ~ E • ~ 0 • ,
c -· • ,. • , , Q. , E , •
FACILITIES Q. · " ,
0
Vl " ,
~ •
N
, • r'l
1. Coddington Ral. COl'll'\, Ctr. P t a.yfi~l aI <1 .0 QC-0
2 . COf\Pton Pork CUNDEV .) I-S ec.
3. (astern H.~hts Perk 14.0 o.c .0 0 0 0 0 N .. Tutplo Po.rk CUNDEV.) e.J CC.
S . Grondvi •• P ork 2 .7 QC. 0 0 0
o. Hungerroral H~ts Pork 2-3 Cle . 0 0 0 N
7 . Kir'lg Schoolhouse Por k CUNDEV.> 1.8 oe.
0. North."ie_ PClI"k 2.0 oe. 0 0 0 0
9. Sal,," Pork 2 .4 oe-0 0 0 0 0
10. Soooni Pork (UHOCV.> e.'" Ge.
II. Sunset Pork <COYI,lQa. ~iohts) 1.4 oe. 0
12. To".yton Pork 1.9 oe. 0 0 N
13. Troy Por-k "'2 Qe . 0 0 0
I •. Tudor" Pork 2 .30e. 0 0 0
IS. Vinc.nzo locO""f'lIi Pork CUNOEV .> 3.5 ae. , .. \,IootF Po.rlc CUN DEV ,) \.7 ee.
,. Cho.s. POt'Id'DI'f't" Run rr-oil CUNOEV .> D.S I"Ii.
2 . DeVItt (xereisl' Trail 0.5 I'Ii. 0
3. [cst Ithaca Recreation \/0.'1 2 .• "'. 0 0 .. NortMast Tr ail. D ..... 0 0
5-South Hit! Recrro. t lcn \10 J .J I"Ii 0 0 0 0 .. \loolF Lane/Poy.r Trait (UNDEV.) 0.6 I"Ii.
• N s ignifiE"s facility doE'S not ME'E't Min iM UM rE'quirE'l"'IE'nts for rE"gulation p l ay in sanct ionE'd sports IE'aguE's.
FIGURE 2 - - --. ~ '" '" • " '" ~ m '" ;;; ;;; \'l N N N N N N N N N u
EX IS TING
;; !U ;;; " iii " ~ ~ '" '" ~ " '" " " ,. '" n ~ ~ z m • Z ~ .. .. ~ ~ 0 ii' r 0 ~ 0 m 0 m ~ < ~ C> m .. < ~ m n ~ ~ 'i' ~ < ~~ n
" ~ " ~ 0 0 • ~ 0 ~ • t.
0 0 • 0 • ~ 0 Q ~ l • n • 0 0 0 • , c c • " n ~ ~ Q I • < ,-n ,
NON-TOWN • r , " , • ~ • • r ~ -n ,---~ r , -n
0 • • ~ ~ • • ~ y ,-.. , ~ • y . -• , ~ 0 -~ • 0 , -0 " 0 r 0 jJ 0 -• • 0 • ~ , ~ ~ = ~ n ~ = " ~ 0 0 -~ if y • ~ , > , 0 , , ~ ~ · 0 " , e .-• • .-, 0 ~ ~ .. ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ 0
PARK S B ~ • • = ~ ~ i .. ~
, .-0 0 , • 0 , n -,
0 • 0
, n ~ -" , , ,
~ Q ~ n -0 ~ c n • 0 • .. 0 , , " " .. .. ~ • , -• 0 , -, .. -e -e S'
, ~ 0 0
FACILITI ES 0 ---• -, , , • Q
l e , •
! ~ ,
0
CIl " 'NOT<' Sone 0' 'he ,a,,;,; .. )
, -0
N ,
li5t.d 1:1£'10. 0.'-1' Loco. ted in •
.... adjo.cent l"lunlcrpo.li tilP5 . rl
!. Coss Pork 92 QC-0 0 0 0 0 L L 0 0 L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C .. St._crt Park 93 QC. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
I J . T N._I"I.oI"I. G~r Coursr 64 QC . 0 0 0
y .. "uthoUo.naI Waftow"r Prill'S . • •• 680 GC . 0
5. rull!',..tll!'S ira Sonctu~y 33 oc-0 0
N !. Butt",.."'k Foil s Stcltl' Po r k 751 oc. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
y .. RObp,..t H-1,..."o,n Stet. Pork 10250.e. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S "-AliGn Ii. r ,."nan Stat" POor-k 7S oe. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
!. I thOCQ COVI'Itrv Club 104 ac. 0 0 0 0 0
•• Itheca SwiMtW\Q Club NIA 0 0 0
P N'A 0 0 R J . Itheca. Yocht Oub
I .. I.V.VF A Bolltill!'lds J .S ac. 0 0
V ,. Coddington Rd. COI'V\. C."t.r .. GC. 0 0 0 0 0 0
A •• Tne. Rink NIA 0 0 0 T ,. Cosc:odiU o Boot Club NIA E 0
B. YJtCA NIA 0 0 0 0 0 0
•• £td,..ic:lglll' P"'.St'rvC!' 97 oc. 0 0
!. IthGco Cotle'ge Athll'tic5 Dept .•• J5 a~ 0 0 0 L L L 0
I .. Corn,,1t Uri,... Atht"tics O"pt .•• L L L L L L L S 28 GC .
N J . Cornell Plo.nto tiQrls 240 GC . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
T. .. SGo5uclcer \loeds Bif"d Sonc:tl.lor 60 oc . 0 0 0 0 0
S-ell It T. Jortes Golf CoUt's," •• 140 GC. 0 0 0 0
• L s ignifies fac ili ty is equipped wi th lights for night-tiMe play.
•• Use of Co .... nell and Ithaca College o.thletic departr'lent focilities is generally r-estr-ic ted to athl etic p,..og,..aMs
students and eMpl oyees of these insti tutions. Fa,.. the purposes of this Plan these facilit ies are not considered
to be available to the gene,..ol publ iC.
••• Includes opp,..oxinatel y 65 ocres wi thin the Ithaca city lir'lits.
neighb orhood park s. cl nd thr ee rnulti ~usc trai ls for th e Tow n resi dent s. Th e Town 's neighb or hoo d piHk s prov id e a
ra ng e of recreatio nal fac iliti es including pl ays tru c tures, ball fi e lds , p lay fi e lds, s ledd i ng hi ll s , a nd nature trail s.
Seve ra l park S al so have wo oded areas maintain ed in a natu ra l St;:lt c exce pt for wa lkin g pclth s.
10
The Tow n of Ilha cH has al so rece ived > thr oug h subdi vision . park and ope n space dedi ca ti on , sit es for s ix new park s
and two addi tio na l trail s. These are the und e vel oped Woo lf, Tute lo, Sapo ni , Comp to n, Kin g Sc hoo lhouse a nd
V in cen zo Iacove lli pa rk s it es , a nd the undeve loped Eve rg ree n and Hospice bikew ays(Ma p 3-1).
Amo ng th eir I'nan y duti es , th e Town of llh ac(} Pa rks Department is responsibl e for bui ldin g Cllld main tainin g park s
a nd trai ls . T he Park s Depa rtm ent a lso mai ntain s th e playfi e ld s of th e priva te Coddington Road Co mmu ni ty Ccnter ,
which afC ope n to th e publi c.
Close-to-Home Spilce: Faci liti es in Nearby Munici llaliti cs
Nearby co mmunities. such as th e City ofI th ac8 , T own of Lan sin g. and Vi lla ge of La nsin g, ha ve park faci liti es,
which may be use d by Town of Ith aca res id cnt s. T he T own of Lan sin g Co mmunity Ce nt er, for exa mp le, is an
impo rt a nt yo uth socce r and fo otb a ll fa c ility fo r T o mpkin s Co unty. City ra cilities includ e th e Mulholland
Wildnower Preserve at Six Mi le Creek , Cass Pa rk 's icc rink . tenni s co urt s, swim ming poo l, athl elic fi elds, and
pi cni c and pla y ,l rCf:\ co mpl ex ~ Stewa rt Park 's exte ns ive lake front , pi cni c faci liti es, boat hollse , tenni s courts ,
p laygrounds and walk i ng trai ls, and th e nea rby Newman Muni c ipa l Go lr Co u rse (9-ho le) a nd rue rt es Bird
S anctua ry .
Lo ca l recreationa l faci liti es are at a hi gh pr emium . A n unfof'tull<H e rcality is that our muni cipal park s ar c be comin g
overc rowd ed a nd d es poiled by o ve ntse . O u r nea rb y s lllt e pa rk s , es tabli s hed to provi de rec reationa l opportu niti es
whil e pr otec tin g th e sce ni c, natural , an d cultural reso urces wit hin th ei r bou nd ar ies , are sutTerin g und er heavy usc
by loca l res id e nt s. The mos t vi s ib le impa c ts are the d ec lin e of g ra ss and lrees in heavily utili ze d day-u sc areas.
Hc.:wy foot traffi c throu gh natu ral areas ha s turn ed some tr ail s int o qua gmires , ex posed tree root s, and lrHmpl ed
se nsitive wildlife habita ts. As our gro win g popUlati on see ks th e so litud e of natur e, our very prese nce gradua ll y
d es troys th e bea uty we have co me to vi sit. More open spaces d esig ned for rr equ e nt use mu st be deve loped so we can
exe rcise ) unwi nd , and appr ecia te the place wh ere we Ii vc . We nee d pla ccs close to homc th at crea te th e se nse of
community th at co mcs wh en peo pl e mee t, gree t, and chat with one anoth er on sid ewalks and tr ai ls.
Closc -to -flomc SI'ilce: Institutional and Private Fac ilities
Nume rous in stitutional and priva te rec reation facilit ies arc available to T ow n res id ent s with membe rs hip s or for a
fec, Fig ure 3-2 show s I he privat e and co mm ercia l fa ci liti es in th e TOWIl . Th ese facilit ies , wh il e p.:1rt of th e Tow n's
many recreat ional offe rin gs , should not be co nsidered as faci liti es open to th e publi c.
I,I(DI I"AA( m\lN or I THACA
1996 PARK,
RECREATION 8.
OPEN SPACE PLAN
DECEMBER 1997
MAP3 -1
EXIS TI NG TO,*N PARK
SYSTEM .
KEY
~ DEVELOP[D
• ~DEVEL[]PED
§ STAT( PARI( L ANDS
NotE tHe tvO PARI(S .... HtoIN
CI'ITiJGA H(IQHS Ali!: O\fl'lo1:D AHL
l'~rNT"'IN(D 8T HtE VILL"GC .
ij
~
v :;d ft.
SCA LE
NIP Pll£l>N«t IV
f D\IN £r ITHACA
PLANNING OEPAR rH£NI
Iii"> {AS I stH(C& SIIi!Er
1rw.tA. I\.{ 1~8S0
,
12
Stud ent s from Corne ll Univer s ity and Ith aca Co ll ege acco unt fo r 38% of th e town's popu lation (1990 Cens us of
Popu lation and Hou sin g) Whil e the se institution s pro vide exten sive recrea tiona l and ath leti c facilitie s for th eir
st ud ent s an d emp loyees , th ese facilitie s are not usuall y ava il ab le to th e ge nera l pub lic . Nonethe less Corne ll
University and Ithac a Co ll ege recreationa l faci lit ies are cons id ered imp ort ant e le ment s of thi s park and recreation
in ventory be ca use th ey are a significant recreati onal reso urc e for th e tow n's stud ent popu lation .
In ad dition to athl et ic facilitie s, Co rn e ll Univ e rsity mai nt ains lar ge amount s of open space that is utili ze d for
infonnal pas sive recreational pur suit s. The Corne ll Pl antati ons offer numerou s opp o rtun itie s for outdoor ac tiviti es
includ in g wa lkin g, hiking , bikin g, sledding and cross co untry skiing . Off·seaso n use of the Univer s it y's Robert
Trent Jone s Golf Co ur se is high amon g cross country skiers .
Table 3· I pre se nt s the Ithaca City Sc hool District'S (ICSD) recre ation a l facilities , loca ted at sc hool s in both the
Town and City, and avai labl e for limited use by lo ca l re s ident s. Publi c use of the faci litie s is limit ed to tho se time s
when th ey a re not bein g utili ze d by ICSD classes or sports teams. An excep ti on is th e exe rci se trail at DeWitt
Middle Sc hoo l, whi ch wa s built by and is mainta in ed by the Town as a public facility.
Table 3-1 Sc hools with Recreational Facilities in the Town
Sc hoo l Location Faciliti es
Ithaca Hi gh Schoo l Cayuga Street runn ing track , athletic fie lds, tenn is co urts,
ba se ball /softba ll field s, swimmi ng pool
Bo y nton Middl e Sc hool Cay uga Stree t runnin g track , athl eti c fi eld s, tenni s cou rt s,
ba se ball /so ftball field s
DeWitt Middle Sc ho o l Warr en Road athl et ic field s, ba seball /softball fi e ld , exerci se
trail
Northea st Elementary Winthrop Drive playgro und , play fi e ld
Cay uga Hei g ht s Elem enta ry Upland Ro ad play g round
Even with th e re stricti ons on use by th e general publi c, sc ho ol faciliti es provide important recreational opportunitie s
fo r Town reside nt s. Thi s is espec ia lly true for th e Northeast and Cayuga Hei g ht s elementary sc hoo ls . Th e
play ground s at those sc ho o ls to so me extent serve as surrogate park s and relieve th e need for th e Town of Ith aca or
Village of Cayuga He ig ht s to develop neig hb or hood park s in tho se areas.
2. Regional Space: State Recreational Facilities
The New York State Omce of Park s, Recrea tion and Hi storic Pr ese rvation (NYS OPRHP) operates tw o state park s
within the Town of Itha ca. Th e 750·acre Buttermilk Fall s Sta te Park encompa ss es Butt emlilk Creek Gor ge, Lake
Trem.n, and wet lands in In let Valley. Robert H. Tr eman State Park covers 3 15 acr es in the Town of Ith aca and
abo llt 79 0 ac res in th e Town of Enfi e ld . At its core is th e Enfi e ld Glen go rge. Both state park s have ba ll fi e ld s and
fac iliti es fo r camping, swimmin g, hikin g, and pic ni ckin g.
Wi thin Ith aca city it se lf is the All an H. Treman Stat e Marin e Park , whi ch encompa sses some 75 acre s o f
undevel oped woo ds, wetl a nd s and I.kefront in addi tio n to it s boa t laun chin g fa c il itie s, 41 3 s lip marina a nd picn ic
ar eas .
Tau g hann ock Fall s State Park is loca ted approx imat ely s ix mil es north of Ith aca in the Town of Uly ss es. T his park
is centered on 2 15 ft . high Ta ug hann ock Fa ll s and att endant gorge . It a lso featur es fa cilit ies for camp in g,
swimmin g, hikin g, and pic ni ckin g.
13
The loca l state park s have a cha ll eng in g dual mi ss ion of providin g recreat ion opportuniti es fo rth e public whil e
protec tin g th e sce ni c, narural , an d cul tur al re so urces w ithin th eir boundari es. TIl cse park s arc intended to se rv e a
statewid e po pul mion , an d are nationalrouri st attr act ion s. Howe ver , local resid ent s also enj oy th ese spec tacula r
rec rea tio nal reso urces and ar e prim e co ntributors to th e inten se use of th ese park s. A cco rding to stati stics fr om th e
Fin ge r Lak es Reg io n of th e NYS Office of Park s, Recre ati o n & Hi sto ric Preservat ion ga th e red in 199 4, Rob ert H.
Tr e man and Butt ermilk Fa ll s Sta te Park had a co mbin ed tota l o f ov er 3 10 ,000 visito rs. A ll an H. T reman Stat e
Marin e Park a nd Ta ug ha nn ock Fa ll s Stat e Pa rk toge th e r ho sted 620 ,000 vi sito rs. Ove r 25% of th ese park-goe rs a re
re sid ent s of th e Ith aca area .
Ovc mse orour loca l state park s is ev id enced by th e loss of g ras s and trees around heav i ly use d day-use area s and a
ge neral dec lin e in wildli fe habit at throu ghou t the par ks. Th e dama ge done by overu se o f lo ca l stat e park s wa s noted
in the Draft Ma ster Pl an for All an H. Treman State Marine Park in 1993: "A ttendance at th e day-use fa c iliti es of
Robert H. Tre man, Butt ermilk Fall s, and Tau g hannock Fa ll s state pa rks ha s in crease d stea dil y. The e ffolt s of park
mana ge ment at the thr ee faci li ties to mee t the incr ease in de mand with ex istin g re so urces are begi nnin g to have a
negativ e impa ct on th e faciliti es."
Grow in g popu lations in the Tow n of Itha ca and Tompkin s Cou nt y are increas in gly using th e day use areas at our
lo cal sta te park s for pi c ni c kin g, informal rec reation and organize d sport s. In res pon se to thi s overuse , NY S OPR I-IP
is endeavor in g to expa nd it s bor de rs to acco mmod ate mOre vis iw rs. Rob ert H. Tre man State Park is developin g an
addi ti onal 33 acres at Lower Tre man for an expanded entran ce an d day use area. A prop ose d expa ns ion of th e Allan
H. Trem an State Marin e Park , to inc lud e mo re moori ng slip s a nd picnic faci lit ies, is a lso pendin g. Clea rl y, buildin g
more recreational faci liti es in Tom pk in s County wo uld re li eve th e burd en loca l resi dent s place o n our state pa rk s.
14
NYS OPRI-IP has received fed e ra l fundin g to cons tru ct the Bla ck Diam ond Trail bi cyc le path . When co mpl eted it
will co nn ect Robert H. Treman and Taughan nock Fall s State Park s with Cass Park , and Butt enmilk Fall s and Allan
1-1 . Treman State Park s in th e city . Th e propo se d Black Diamo nd Tra il wi ll ex tend .bout 15 mile s from th e Tow n of
Ith aca north westward s to Tru mansbu rg. Co nstructi on is ex pec ted to be comp leted by 1999.
The NYS Departm ent of Envi ronme nt al Co nse rvation (NYS DE C) mana ges num erous wildlife management areas
within Tompkin s Co unty that are ava il ab le to res id ents for camp in g, hiking , snow mobilin g, cross-co unt ry skiin g,
and enjoying nat ur e. The Co nnecticut 1-1 ill Sta te Wildlife Manage ment Area is located to th e so uthw es t in th e Town
of Newfield and Town of Enfiel d, on th e Tompkin s Co unt y bo undary wi th Sc huyler Co un ty. The Yellow Bam ,
Ham mond Hill , Shinda g in Ho ll ow, Danb y, and Ne wfie ld State Fo res ts are loca ted in the so uth ern and eas tern
sec tion s of th e cou nt y.
3. Uniqu e Space: Bicycle Tra il s and Walkway s
The Town owns and main tai ns app ro xim ately eight mile s of off-road multi-u se trail s that provid e sa fe and qui et
path s for walkin g, jogging, strollin g, bicyc lin g, horse ba ck ridin g, and cross -co untry skiin g (M a p 3-I). They are th e
Nort heas t Trai l and De Witt Exercise Trai l, and th e Li sa Lane, Simsb ury a nd Sa ndra Plac e wal kwa ys in the
Northea st sec ti on of the Tow n, th e East Ith aca Recreation Way an d th e So uth H ill Recreation Wa y. Portion s of the
3.3 mil e So uth Hi ll Recr ea ti on Wa y and 2.2 mile East Ith aca Rec reation Wa y pass throu gh attract ive woo dl and and
meadow s and affo rd loca l res ide nts co nven ient access to hi g h qualit y natural se ttin gs.
Mult i-use trail s in the Town of Ith aca provid e res id en ts wi th imp orta nt com mut er alt ernativ es for pedes tri ans and
bicyc lists. Th e so uthern half of the East Ith aca Recreat ion Wa y con nects th e Pin e T ree Road /Honne ss
Lan e/G randv iew re sidential a rea wi th Corne ll Univ ersity, and is heavi ly use d by bi cycle a nd pedes tri an commut ers.
The Nort heast Trail is a popu la r ofF-road comm uter rout e for stud ent s walkin g and bi cyc lin g between the resi denti al
ar ea eas t of Warren Road and th e DeWitt Midd le Sc hoo l and Northeast Ele ment ary Sc hool. In te rw o ven in thi s tra il
sys tem are th e Li sa Lane , Sa ndr a Place, and Fore st Home Wa lkways, whic h offe r attr act iv e, park-li ke linka ges
wit hin their re spec tive ne ighbor hoods and affo rd a convenient co mmuter route to the Triphamm er commercia l
cen ters , Th e Sou th Hill Rec reatio n Way also se rv es, to a limited exte nt , as a com muter route be tw een So uth Hill
resident ia l areas, Itha ca Co lle ge, and dow nt ow n.
Co rn ell Plantation s ma inta in s th e Pl antat ion s Path , a uniqu e 7-m il e network of se lf-g uid ed walkwa ys, roads , and
path s on the University's land. Th e Pla nt ati ons Path beg in s at th e Trem an Tr iang le in th e Cit y of Ith aca , wind s
eas tw ard thr oug h Casca dilla Gorge, cro sses the Corne ll ca mpu s, circ les Bee be Lak e, and wanders th ough th e
Co rn ell Plantations ' botan ica l ga rd ens and natural areas until it end s at th e New man over look in Corne ll's
arb o re tu m. Bot h e nd s o f th e Pat h con nect wit h oth er regiona l wa lki ng trail s, in c lu d ing th e Circle Greenway in
down tow n Ith aca and the Cay uga Trail hikin g path alo ng Fall Cree k.
4. Water Oriented Recreat iona l Faci liti es
15
Althou gh th ere are over two mi les of lake shore lin e wit hin th e Tow n, th ere is no publi c ly ow ned wa terfront o n
Cay uga Lake. Stewart Park in th e cit y is th e primary access poin t for wate rfro nt recreat ion for Town re sid ents. T he
pa rk fea ture s pi cni c tables , pav ili ons, pl ayg rou nd s, te nni s and baske tball co urt s, and natur e trail s. The 112 mi le of
lake s hor e provid es oppo rtun iti es for fi shin g and str ollin g. Anoth er 112 mile of un developed lake sho re at th e All an
H. Treman State Marin e Par k, a lt ho ugh publi c ow ned , is not read ily access ibl e to th e ge nera l public. Current ly ,
publi c swimmin g is pr ohib ited at both Stewart Park and Alla n H. Tr ema n State Park.
A seg me nt of lake shore wit hin th e Town of Ith aca , cu rr entl y use d as a commercia ll y ope rated marina , may be
ava il able fo r public rec reat iona l purposes in th e future . The marin a occ upi es approximate ly 1,200 feet of la ke fr o nt
off Eas t hare Drive and offe rs slip rental s, boat lau nchin g, and small sa il boa t an d sa ilboard rent als. Thi s prop er ty
has been rece ntl y ac qu ired by Co rn ell Uni ve rs ity fo r use as part of its proposed Lake So urc e Coo ling proj ect. It s
pote nti al for public rec rea ti onal use howeve r is unkn own pend ing th e outc ome of th e University's propo sed project.
Pub lic sw imm ing poo ls avail able to Tow n resi den ts inclu de Cass Park Poo l and Al ex Ha ley Poo l. Bot h are ow ned
an d main ta in ed by th e Ci ty of Ith aca. A ve ry limit ed amo unt of public swimmin g is all owed at th e Ithaca High
Sc hoo l poo l. Private swimmin g fac ilit ies inc lud e th e YM CA and Ith aca Swi mmin g Club poo ls in Lansi ng V ill age,
the He len Newma n a nd Teag le Ha ll poo ls at Co rn e ll Un ive rsity, and two pool s on th e Ithaca Co ll ege cam pu s.
Vario us hotels in th e area offer poo l membersh ips to th e com muni ty as well.
Boat in g is a promi nent rec rea t ional activ ity for Town res id ent s . Ap pr oxi mate ly 130 homes that line th e lake s ho re in
th e Town have boa t dock s. An addi ti o nal 1,000 sea sona l-use boat s lip s a re avai lab le at th e Allan H. Treman State
Marine Park, Ithaca Y ac ht Club , M ye rs Poin t, and th e ar ea's co mm ercial mar in as. H oweve r, these marinas al so
se rv e Broo me, T ioga and Chemung Co unti es , forci ng Town of Ith aca res id en ts to com pete on a re giona l ba sis fo r
moo rin g space .
5. Recr eationa l Se rvice s
The Cit y of Ith aca Yo uth Bu rea u prov ides yo uth se rvice s fo r th e resi dent s of th e Tow n o f It haca thr oug h contract.
The Town pay s th e Itha ca Youth Bureau for thi s yo uth prog rammin g. The Town a lso co nt rac ts wit h th e Cod din gton
Road Co mmunit y Ce nt e r and th e To mpkin s Coun ty Se ni or Citi ze n Co un c il fo r rec rea t io nal se rv ices. [n 1996 , th e
cos t for th e Youth Burea u se rvices was $160 ,000, th e Cod din gton Road Co mmu nit y Ce nt er wa s a ll oca ted 55 ,000
for a summer playgrou nd prog ram, and th e Senior C it ize n Co un cil wa s paid $5 ,000 towa rd ongoi ng rec rea ti on
program s for th e e ld e rl y.
16
In add it ion to orga ni zed ad ult and yo uth sports leag ues, Town re s ident s may a lso parti cipate in recreatio nal
pro gram s availab le throu gh th e YMCA , Boy Scou ts and Gi rl Sco uts , 4-1-1 , Cay uga Na tur e Ce nt er, an d other activi ty
cente rs. Seaso na l prog rams and sum mer ca mps are a lso offe red at C6rne ll Unive rsity and Ith aca Co ll ege.
6. Ex is tin g and Anticipated La nd Use
T he Town of Ith aca e ncom pa ss es a n area of just under 19,500 acres, or abo ut 30 .5 sq uare miles , including th e
Vill age of Cay uga Hei ghts a nd Cay uga Lake. Accord in g to th e Town of Ith aca Co mprehens iv e Plan (1993),
approximate ly 22% of the Town of Itha ca's land arca is deve loped for uses such as res id en ti al, comme rcia l,
ind ustri a l, and in stituti onal uses (ed uca ti on, chu rches, ho sp ital s, gove rnm en t, etc.). (Map 3-2) The rema ini ng 78%
consists of agric ultura l (27%), rec rea ti ona l (6%), or ot her type s of un developed open space such as wood land ,
br ll shl a nd , meadow la nd , and bod ies of water (45%). In 1990, app roxi mate ly 26% of the Town 's land area cons isted
of wood land, and anot her 16% bru sh or mea dow land.
The Town of Ith aca can cx pe cllo see th e co nve rsion of ap pro xima tely 800 ac res , or 4% of it s area, fr om
undeveloped categorie s to developed categories of land li se. Much of thi s co nv ersio n of land is ex pected to occur on
Wes t Hill and Sou th Hill (Map 3-2). The Co mpr e hensive Pl an ant ic ipate s th e need for an add iti onal 1,230 dwell ing
units to accom modat e expec ted popu lat ion growth over the nex t two decade s. Th is ant ic ipated reside nti al
deve lop ment is expec ted to requir e co nve rsion of approximate ly 500 ac res of exis tin g undeve loped land s to such
use. Future grow th of th e Co rnell Universit y ca mpu s may req uire ano th er 200 acres, primaril y in th e Univ ersity 's
u Precinct 7" area sout h ofN Y S Rte. 366 and nort h of Cascadi ll a Creek. Co mm erc ial and indu str ial deve lopment
ma y co nsum e an add itiona150 to 100 ac res.
7. Tra ns portati o n Sys te ms
The Town of Ith aca ha s a tr ansporta t ion ne two rk co nsisting of th e roadways , public and private bu s sys tem s, a
freight railroad , bikeways , ped es trian wa lkways , and nea rb y passe nge r a ir se rvice s. Becau se of th e topog ra ph y of
the Ith aca reg ion, a pr edomin ant ly radial road netwo rk co nverg in g on downtown It haca has evo lv ed. Thi s patt ern of
major roads co nstrain s the abil ity of Town residents to move direc tl y between Eas t Hill , Sou th Hi ll , an d West Hill.
T he pub lic tr ansporta ti on system serv ing the Ithaca area in clud es Tompki ns Conso li dated Area Tran s it (TCAT),
Northea st Tra ns it and Gadabo ut. TCAT is a publi c-priv ate partners hi p c reated by th e merge r in 19 96 of the Ci ty'S
roVN or ITHACA
1997 PARK
RECREATION &.
OPEN SPACE PLAN
DECEHBER 1997
MAP 3-2
EX I S TING AND
PROJECTED
CON CENTRA T10NS
OF DE V ELOPMENT
KEY
~ [J(ISTINO OCV[LIF" ~ AREAS -1'1'15
-==-ANTICIPATED AReAS or --==-H("" DEYELOPtt£NT,
t'1'15 TO 20lD
o S.()OO f''t
! !
SCALE
_ P1tO'AOILZI .1.
TO""'" or fTHo\CA
PlANNING OCPARTH£NT
lr~~' ... ~"'f~rJ!C[l
18
Ith aca Transit , th e Co unt y's TomTran , and Co rn e ll 's CU Transit bu s sys tems . It serves the Cit y an d so me part s o f the
Town , th e Co rn e ll Unive rs ity ca mp us a nd many rural portion s of Tomp kins Co unt y. Northeast Tra nsi t se rve s th e
Nor th eas t area of the Tow n a nd th e Village s of Cay uga He ig ht s and Lan s in g, co nn ec tin g th em to Co rn e ll Univer s it y
and dow nt ow n Ith aca . Ga da bout provides loca l paratr ans it se rvi ce --on ca ll door to door se rvi ce for th e el de rl y and
physica ll y cha ll enged --th roughout th e Ith aca area.
Whi le there is an ex te nsive network of s id ewa lk s in th e Villa ge o f Cay uga He ight s, ther e are limited si dewa lks a nd
oth er pedestrian facil it ie s in th e nearby sec ti ons of th e Town of Itha ca. Th ese fac il iti es arc co nce ntrat ed On Eas t Hill,
es pec iall y in th e No rth eas t sect ion o f th e Town . Exc ludin g th e So uth Hill and Eas t Ith aca Recrea ti on Way s, the
Town ow ns approximately 1.7 miles of walkway s and bicyc le paths. These in clude th e Winth ro p Drive and Texas
Lane wa lkways se rvin g the area north of H anshaw Road; th e Plea sant Grove walkwa y co nn ec tin g Co rn ell
University with Co mmunity Co rn e rs (part ly ow ned and maintained by the Vill age of Cay uga He ights); th e Mitch e ll
Str ee t wa lkway betwe en the city and East Hill Plaza ; and the Pine Tr ee Road walkway fr om Snyder Hill Road to
Eas t Hi ll Pla za .
On So uth Hill a nd West Hill , th e Tow n has begun to develop netwo rks of on-a nd off-stree t pede strian and bi cyc le
lin kages. Appro x imat ely I mi le of rig ht -of-way has been ac quir ed on So uth Hill for a path fr om th e sout h end of
Cha se La ne to Whitetail Drive within the Deer Ru n developm ent. About half ofthe rout e is located behin d exist in g
and future homes and away from str ee ts and roads. Ther e is potenti al for this path to ex ten d north and wes t toward
Ith aca Co ll ege and the Ci ty. On We st Hill , a ri g ht o f way has bee n acq uir ed or reserved as part of the sub di vision
ap pro va l pro cess in the Woo lf La ne/Dubo ise Roa d a rea. Deve lopm en t o f an off-road bicyc le/pe de strian path co uld
ex tend so uthw ard via th e Cay uga Medi ca l Ce nt errrompkin s Coun ty Bi ggs Buildi ng comp lex and fu ture
subdi visions to the city . The locatio n of ex istin g and fu tur e highways , pub lic tr ansit service, and bicyc le and
pede stria n link ages ar e important ra ctors in loca tin g park fac i liti es intend ed for ser vi ce areas larger th an the
immedi ate neig hb orh oo d.
8. Population
According to th e US Bur eau of the Ce nsus, th e Tow n of Ith aca in 1990 had a popu latio n of 17,797 per so ns, up from
16,02 2 pe rso ns in 1980. Of the 17,797 t'C side nt s in 1990 , 14 ,350 are c lassified forthe purposes o f thi s p lan as
"pe nn anen t residen ts." Penn ane nt resid ent s are those Tow n re side nt s who do not liv e in the co ll ege dorm it ory
co mpl exes at Co rn ell Univer s ity or Ith aca Co ll ege . Thi s numb e r of" perm a nen t residents" will be th e baselin e
fi gur e fo r ana lyzi ng th e curr ent and furure park , rec rea ti on, an d ope n spac e needs o f th e Tow n.
Stu de nt res ident s who live in collc ge dormi tor ies are exc luded for the purpo ses of thi s repo rt beca use they have
avai lable a wide variety of ea s il y acce ss ib le outdoor rec rea ti ona l facilities on th eir respective ca mpu ses. Al so in
19
SO me areas of th e Tow n th ey re prese nt a large pro po lti o n of ove ra ll po pu lati o n, es pecia ll y o n So uth Hill. Stud e nt s
w ho liv e in o ff-ca mp us apa rtm e nt s or Co rn e ll Un ivers it y fami ly ho u s in g are cou nted as "perma ne nt resi den ts"
beca use (I ) th ey a re no t id e ntifi e d in th e Census d ata , and (2) are less lik e ly to have easy access to o n-ca mpu s
rec rea ti onal fac ili ties. and co nse qu entl y are mo re reliant o n To wn fac iliti es for th e ir pa rk and rec rea ti on nee ds.
T he T ow n of Ith aca Com pre hens ive Pla n ado pte d in 1993 projects th at th e tota l pop Ulati on of the Town o f Ith aca,
incl udi ng both " pe rm a nent res iden ts" a nd st ud ent s, w ill in crease to a roun d 2 1,85 0 pe rso ns by th e yea r 20 I O.
Bec au se Co rn e ll Un ive rs ity a nd Itha ca Co ll ege bo th a nti ci pate n o gro wth in enr o llm e nts in th e co min g deca des, th is
projec ted in c rease in popul atio n is expected to occu r in th e pe rm a ne nt res id e nt pop Ula t io n. By the yea r 20 I 0 th e
To wn par k sys tem thu s ca n be ex pec ted to se rv e a po pul a ti o n of 18,400 perso ns.
Th e di stri but io n o f th e Tow n's po pul ati o n a mong age g ro ups differs fro m th e s tate as a w ho le, and T o mpk in s
Cou nty (Table 3-2). Th e majo r area of d ive rge nce is in th e 15 to 24 year o ld age brackets. As a pro poni on o f tot a l
Table 3 -2. Popu lation by Age: New Yo rk State, T o mpkins County and Town of Ithaca, 1990 (includin g
students living in co ll eg e dormitories & ot her group quarters)
A ge G rou p Sta te Perce nt of T om pkin s Percen t Town Percent
To ta l Co un ty of Tota I of Ith aca of To ta l
o to 4 t,255,764 7% 5,298 6% 85 4 5%
5 to 9 1,178,006 7% 5,438 5% 8 18 5%
10 to 14 1,140,177 6% 4,723 6% 698 4%
15 to 19 1,230,127 7% 11,570 14% 3,12 1 18%
20 to 24 t ,40 8,899 8% 16 ,322 18% 3,04 2 17%
25 to 29 1,564,6 17 9% 8,3 13 10% 1,479 8%
30 to 34 1,573,57 1 9% 7,548 8% 1,270 7%
35 to 44 2,724 ,685 15% 13,053 9% 2,2 4 8 13%
45 to 54 1,913,920 11 % 7,597 7% 1,3 09 7%
55 .to 64 1,636,967 9% 5,775 7% 1,11 2 6%
65 to 74 1,3 48,279 7% 4,68 4 5% 974 5%
75 to 84 767 ,270 4% 2,796 2% 58 1 3%
85 & o ld e r 2 48,173 1% 985 1% 29 1 2%
TO T A L 17,99 0 ,4 55 100 % 94,097 100% 17,7 9 7 100%
Sou rce: 1990 Ce nsus o f Po pul a ti o n and Ho us in g.
20
population , th ese age gro up s are more th an twice as large as the res t of th e state. The se age co horts also repre se nt the
most ac ti ve of all age groups in tel111 s ofpanicipation rates for man y recrea ti onal ac tivitie s, according to th e 1990 New
York State Co mprehens ive Outdoor Recreation Plan (NYSCORP).
A sec ond factor re lat ed to population is th e growt h of th e eld erl y popu latio n within the Town of Ithaca . Acco rdin g to
the Town 's 1993 Co mpre hensive Plan residents aged 65 and old er repre se nt the fa ste st growing age grou p in the Town.
Si nce 1970 th e proponion of re sident s age 65 or o lder a lmo st dou bl ed from 5.6% to 10.4 %. It is antic ip ated in th e
Co mpr ehens iv e Plan that thi s seg ment of th e popu latio n will continue to g row .
Another fa ctor in park plannin g related to populat io n is in come. Accordin g to the 1990 Ce nsus of Popu lation a nd
Housing, the medi an fami ly income for th e Town of Itha ca in 1989 wa s $5 1,17 3. This is 29% above the media n fami ly
income of $39,74 1 for New York State as a whol e. According to th e 1990 NYSCORP , people with high er income s
were found to participate in outd oo r rec reatio nal activ iti es at a hi gher rat e th an th os e wi th lower income s. In statewid e
surv eys comp leted during th e preparati on of the NYSCORP , th e hi ghest income g roup (over $50 ,000/y r.) had th e
hi ghe st participation rate in such ac tivit ies as: wa tchin g spec tator sport s, go lfing , cross-co un try sk iing , icc ska tin g,
ou td oor tenni s, sail in g, horse back ridin g, soc cer, and downhill skiin g. The re sea rch showed a positive correla ti on
between incre ased inc ome leve l and pal1icipati on in outdoor activ iti es such as sa ili ng, ten ni s, so ftba ll , socce r, jogging,
ice skatin g and downhill skiin g.
Hi storica ll y, th e bulk of the Town's popu lation has been concentrated on East Hill. Sin ce the tum of th e ce nnlr y,
g rowth ha s tend ed to spread eastward an d nonhward from th e Co rn e ll Univers ity campu s and the Collegetow n area .
Since th e mid -1950s, th e areas of Eas t Hill encompass in g th e Villa ge of Cay uga Height s and the nonh eas t co mer of th e
Town have experienced sub stantial development. Si nce 1965 sub stant ia l re sidential and co mm ercia l de velopment has
occ urred on Eas t Hill so uth of Cascad illa Creek. Be ginni ng in th e late 1980 s se vera l lar ge-scale res idential
deve lopme ntS have bee n built on Sout h Hill so uth of th e Ith aca Co ll ege campus . In 1990,55.4% of town re si den tS liv ed
on East Hill ; 3 1.3% liv ed on So uth Hi ll ; and 13.3% lived in We st Hill and in Inl et Valley (1990 Ce nsus of Popul ation
and Housing).
With the building out of East Hill , developm ent const raint s on Sou th Hill such as wet land s, mature woodland s and
stee p s lopes , and comp let ion of th e Route 96/0ctopu s proj ec t th e Town ca n expect Wes t Hill to expe rie nce a hi gher
lev e l of re s idential deve lopm ent in the co min g decades.
2 1
CHAPTER4
ANALYSIS: EX ISTING PARK AND RECR E ATION RE OURCES
I. EX ISTING PARKS VERSUS EXISTING NEEDS
Based on na ti o nal st a nd ard s and it s perm a ne nt res id e nt po pulati o n o f 14 ,35 0 perso ns, th e Town of Ith aca prov id es
am pl e "cl ose-to-hom e" ne ighb orhood park s (Tab le 4-1).' The Nat io na l Rec reation a nd Park s A ssoc iati on (N RPA )
standa rds fo r neighborhoo d parks ca ll fo r betwee n 14 and 29 acres devote d to s uch faci lit ies. Th e Town ha s n ine
de ve loped park s wit h a pp rox im a te ly 37 ac res of ex istin g ne ig hbo rh ood park spa ce (i nc lu din g 1.2 acres at Su nse t Park)
and th e po tent ia l for a n addi ti o na l 25 acres a t s ix un deve lo ped park s it es.
Table 4-1. Local Park Acrea ge vs. NRPA S tandard s
Park Category N umbe r S uggested Tow n Town Acres S u ggested
o f Town A cresl l OOO A cres/lOO O Pe r Park Numbe r of
Parks Peop le Peop le Type A cres
Existi ng Neighb o rh ood Par ks' 10 I to 2 2 .5 +1-37 N /A
Pro posed Nei g hborh o o d Parks 6 I to 2 1.8 +1-25 N /A
Tota l Neig hborh ood Park s 16 I to 2 4.3 +1-6 1 14.4 to 2 8.8
T o ta l C lose -to Hom e Space 16 6.25 to 10 .5 4 .3 +1-6 1 90 to 144
• , In cludm g Sun se t Park In Cayuga HeIght s,
Wh il e th e Town grea t ly exceed s nati o n a l s tan dard s fo r ex ist in g neighborhood pa rks, it lags behind th e NRPA
s ta nd ard s fo r publi c" close to ho me" s pace. T he T own's t ota l 4 .3 acres of park s pa ce per 1,000 pe rman e nt res id e nt s
is on ly 7 0 pe rce nt of th e minimum na ti o na l stand ard of 6.25 ac res p er 1,000 res id e nts. It is less th an o ne-half of th e
NRPA m ax imum reco mmend a ti o n of 10.5 ac re s pe r 1,0 00 res id e nt s. T hi s defic ie ncy is part ly th e resu lt o f th e lack
of co mmunit y or area park s in the Town, whi ch will be discussed later in thi s doc um ent.
Mo reove r, th e exis tin g Town park sys te m is not eve nl y di s t r ib ut ed . In term s of ac rea ge, Ea s t Hi ll and Sou th Hill
have th e b ul k of th e Town's c lose-to-home par k s pace . Appro x imat ely 6 3% of the Tow n's pe rm an e nt resi d e nt s liv e
o n Ea s t Hill a nd hav e co nveni e nt access to 67% of th e Town 's deve lo p ed park land . Sou th Hill is ho m e to o nl y 16%
of the Town's pe rm a ne nt re s id e nt popul ati o n, b ut is se r ved b y 2 8% of th e Town 's park spac e .
Th e Ea s t Hill area is s erved by s ix ne ighbo rh ood pa rks tota lin g 25.6 acres. Give n it s pe rman e nt re s ident popul at io n
of approx im a te ly 8,930 pe rso ns, th is is eq ual to abou t 2.9 acres per 1,000 res id e nt s --we ll a bove th e n ationa l
1 For th e pu rpose of inv entory in g avai lab le park space, Su nse t Pa rk in Cay uga Hei ght s is bein g incl ude d as a
nei ghb orh oo d par k .
22
stand ard . M ore th an hal fo fthi s parkl and . howeve r, is li ed up in th e Eas tern Height s Park loca ti on. Al th ough th is
14 ac re fa ci lity is a hi g h qu a lit y publi c pa rk , it s locati o n is no t co nve ni e llily access ib le by mos t Eas t Hill res id e nt s.
A no the r defi cie ncy id e llli fie d in th e Ea st Hill a rea is thc lac k of T ow n pa rk fac ilit ies w ithin easy wa lkin g di sta nce
o f res id e lli s in th e de nse ly po pulat e d area be twee n Mit che ll S tree t a nd Map le Ave nu e .
Whil e So uth Hi ll may have a di sproporti o na te sha re of T own p ark splice, th e access ibilit y or th ose pllrks to So uth
Hill res id e nt s is prob le mat ic . T he four ex is tin g a nd two futu re pa rk faci li ties are no t we ll di s tr ibu te d co mpare d w ith
th e populati on of the ar ea . Only abo ut 50% of South Hill res id ent s li ve within a co nve ni ent one-half mi le walkin g
d ista nce of a n ex is tin g or futu re park 10001ti o n. The neig hb o rh ood pa rk a t th e Co ddi ng ton Roa d Co mmun ity Ce nt er
is loca ted a full I.S mil es fro m th e Dee r Run/C hase Far m res id enti al ar ea and 2 mil es fr om th e Junip e r
Dri vcIN orth view Roa d res id enti al ar ea .
Additi onall y, th e Cod din gton Roa d Co mmunity Ce nt er is in an are<llhat th e 1993 Town o/ithaca Compreh ensive
Plan has slated fo r very low de ns ity d evelo pme nt throu g h th c next t wo d eca des . Thus whil e th e Co mmunity Ce nter
is expec ted to co ntinu e it s imp on3m ro le as a nlr aJ rec reati onal faci l ity for th e so uth eastern co mer o f th e Tow n,
and adj ace nl porti ons of Danb y, Ca rolin e, and Dry den. it is not expec ted 10 se rv e as a neig hb orh oo d par k ror th e
e nt.i re SO llth Hill ar ea .
Wes t Hill , home to 2 1 % of th e Town 's pe rm anent res id ent s, curr entl y has no deve loped park sil es . A n und eve loped
park sit e in th e Wes twoo d Hill s subdi v ision on th e north ern bo rd er of the Tow n, whe n deve loped , will co nstitut e
4.7% o r th e T ow n's p"rk s pace. Fo r th e va s t majorit y o f Wes t Hill res id e nt s , th e re are no eas il y access ibl e publi c
park or ope n space are as.
Community or Area Pa l'ks
Th e To wn of Ith aca does not own any large·scal c co mmun ity, or "area" park s. Ar ea par ks can hos t int ense
rec rea ti onal act ivi ti es , includin g la rge r sca le ath leti c eve nt s, co nce rt s , and fes ti va ls, and ;HeelS to acco mm odate
la rge gro up ga th erin gs such as reuni ons or ,,,,,eddin gs . ArCH parks sc rv e a wid e co nstitu e ncy whi ch co mes to th e
pa rk and stays for seve ra l h o urs of re lax ati o n and ac ti vili es . Co n seq ue ntl y, th ese pa rks mu s t ha ve m o re
infras lm c lur c, includin g ro adways , parkin g faci liti es , co mfort stati ons, and ; in so me cases , addit.io nill fea tures such
as co ncess ion stand s, swimmin g poo ls, and ice rin ks . Loca ll y, Cass Park and Stewa rt Park within the City of Ith aca
co uld be co nside red co mmuni ty o r a rea pa rk s.
Exi sting Public Active Recreationa l Facilities Versus Activ e Recreation Needs
Faci liti es for for mal and info rm al ac tiv e rec rea ti onal pu rs uits (l rc an im po rt ant co mp one nt of th e publi c par k
sys tcm. Fo r th e pu rposes o f thi s re pon , "ac ti ve recre ati ona l fac iliti es" are fac iliti es th at mee t minimum des ig n
c rit eria for usc in san ction ed spo rt s event s s uch as Yo uth Socce r, Liu le League Basc b})II , etc. Th ese types o f
fac iliti es provide for indi vidua l and tca m sportin g eve nt s, from spur-of-th e-moment pi ck up ga mes of baseba ll ,
roo tba ll , or soccer, 10 sa nc ti o n ed leagu e e ve n IS s ll c h as th ose sponsore d by th e loca l IIh aca Yo ulh Hockey
Associatio n, K iwa ni s Baseb a ll , Ith aca A mate ur So rt ba ll Assoc iatio n, a nd oth er loca l o rga ni zation s. They a lso
pr ovi de pla ces for individual rec rea ti onal sport s Sti ch ,15 lenn is , handball , go lf, sw immin g, and j ogg ing,
Tab le 4-2 co mp<tfCS th e ex istin g ac ti ve rec reat io nal faci liti es in th e Tow n of Ithaca 10 th e NPRA nati o nwid e
stand ard s. Acco rdin g to th e NPRA stand ard s th e Tow n lack s adeq uate ac ti ve rec rea ti ona l fac iliti es in all
23
c:Hcgo ri es . T hi s docs not mea n, howeve r, that opportun iti es for active rec rea ti on do not exis t in th e T ovm's park
system. The p layi ng fiel ds o r Tareyto n, Eas te rn He ig ht s, a nd Coddinglo n ROlld Co mmuni ty Cente r arc a ll
Cl ppropriat ely size d and laid oul to allow fo r inform al ba se ball , so ftb al l. footba ll or soccer gam es , alth ou gh none of
them arc co nstru cted to standard s for sa ncti oned spo rt s. Furth ermore, whil e th e Eas tern Height s Park play in g fi eld
is large enough to hold a regu lati on-s ize socce r fi eld, and Ih e Tarey ton Park co uld acco mmod(lte (I lillie League
s ta ndard ba seba ll di a mo nd , bo th parks lac k the pa rkin g nee ded 10 serve s uc h a raci li ty, and th e space needed to
bu ild such pi:lfkin g. T he res ult is that Tow n res id ent s who pi:lft icipal e in th e vario us local lea gu e spor ts mu st use
raci liti es o ut s id e th e Tow n of Itha ca pa r k sys te m . T hcse include th e racilities operated by the City or II h aca a t Cass
Pa rk and , throu gh ag ree ment with th e Slate, at Butte rmil k Fa ll s State Pa rk , and at th eTown of La nsin g Co mmunit y
Pa rk ,
Table 4 -2. Tow n Maintained Active Recreational Facilities Versus NRPA S tandards
Fac ility Nat iona l N(l ti onal Standard Ex is ting
S ta nd ard Appl ied To Town In Town
Baske tba ll Courts 115 ,000 3 °
Ha ndb a ll Co urt s 1/20,000 I a
Hockey Ri nks l /JOO ,OOO a a
Tennis Co urts 112 ,000 8-9 0
Baseba ll /So ftball Diamonds (regula ti o n) 115,OIlO 3 °
Footba ll Fields 1120 ,000 I ()
Soccer Fie lds 1110 ,000 I 0
Swimmin g Poo ls 1120 ,000 I 0
A repo rt e mill e d "The Jo in t Yomh Commi ss ion of th e Tow n o flthac,! a nd th e Vi ll ages o f Lansing a nd Cayu ga
Heights . Nee ds Assessmen t," compil ed to be ller und e rs ta nd "th e nec ds o r und e r-serve d yo uth li v i ng in Ih e three
com mun it ies that the commi ss ion repr ese nt ed," Slates that 73.1% of you th in th e repr ese nt ed co mmun i ti es are
involv e d in orga ni zed s ports. T hese in c lude: b,)seba ll , so ftb a ll , socce r, baske tball. skiing , h oc key, football ,
sw immin g, lac ro sse, vo ll eyball , hor se ba c k ridin g, wei g ht liftin g and tra ck.
Ac co rdin g to th c Cen s us dat a present cd ear li e r in C hapte r 3, in 1990 . 1,5 16 yo uths be tw ee n lhe ages of 5 and 14
live d in Ih e Town . Thus thi s 7 3 .1 % fi gure re presenl s an approximat e 1,100 T own o f Ith aca yo uth s who are
in vo lve d in organi ze d sport s. Yet , as th e pr ev ious page s hows , th e Town do es not pro vid e any fac iliti es fol' such
act iv iti es. The m os t fr e qu c m aC li vi ty (80 .8%) was s po rl s . T h e seco nd la rges t a rea of in vo lve me nt by T o wn Yo uth
in orga ni ze d rec reational act iviti es nOled in th e surv ey is in th e art s l-lnd humaniti es: btmd , chom s, choi r, co lor
guard , drama , art s and craft s.
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In vo lvc ment in yo uth prog ram s and l:lctiv iti cs is mu ch less int cnsive in th e summ cr nl onth s, wit h 42% or yo uth s in
repr ese nted co mmunities nol bein g in vo lve d in any summer activity . Summ er spo n s cmnps were th e mos t
rrequc ntly mcntion ed acti vi ti es. (W hil e th e Town do cs not offe r summ er yo uth programs , it has a co nt rac t wi th th e
C ity of Ith aca Yo uth Bureau fo r yo uth pro g ra m s.)
Give n th e findin gs of th e Jo im Yo uth Commission , the T o wn's II to 14-yea r-o ld youth appea r to be m OS I und e r-
se rved in term s of rec reu ti onal opp ortuniti es , beca use th ey ar c too yo un g to dri ve and ye t too old to tak e ad va nta ge
of many exi stin g pr ogra ms. T he fo ll ow in g qu at,Hi ons from th e Joint Youth CO lllmi ss ion's Needs Assess ment help
to illu strate th e problem . Ulthink it's more chall engin g ror th e lawn kid s. Som e arc bell er se rved by buses , oth ers
arc not reac hed. So th cse you th , who don't have parent s who ca n tak e th em pl aces , are rc li<H1t on sc hoo l bu ses
durin g th e sc hoo l ye ar and arc stu ck durin g th e summ er ... Th e one co re pr og ram we go t into is partl y depcndent
o n Imil d eve lopme nt. And 10 th e exte nl thalthese serv e as bike tra il s as well as hiking a nd s ki pa l hs , I hat wi ll
make kid s more inde pe nd e nl" (Page 56) and : "Ithe yo ulh] Ihey havc Ih e mo st diffi c ult lim e wit h arc from th e
Tow n or Ith aca , beca use nobody rea ll y know s, yo u'r e so rt of invi sible. and yo u're eith e r a downtown kid or yo u're a
rural kid ... Ih e n eed s o flh e ki ds from Ih e Town of Ilha ca , and Ih e need s fo r th e V illage of Lans in g kid s , ma y no t
be gelling me t because there's nobody wh o recog ni zes Ihi s popu lation o f k ids" (pagc 68).
Unique Space: Bicycle and Pcdc~trian Facilitie~
Th ere are two maj or iss ue s relat ed to the reso urces de fined by th e NRPA as "un iq ue space " within the Town of
Ith ac a 's park sys tem that need 10 be addresse d in thi s Pl a n. They a re Ih e necd for mec hanisms 10 be llc r pro iec i
ex isUn g uniqu e spa ce reso urce s, includin g th e Town's sys tem or tr ail s and th e vari ous ex istin g pr ese rv es , and th e
need 10 expand Ihc exisl in g ne twork o f uniqu c space .
The Town's tr ai ls and rec rea ti o n ways are lOc at ed within ri g ht of way s th at range in wid th from I S fee t for th e
Northeas t Trail 10 66 feel . Experience has s ho wn Ih a l in many in s tances 15 feC I o r 20 fce l is a n adequa te ri g ht o f
25
way widt h to accom moda te a bic ycle or pedes trian pa th .. T he Tow n howeve r should co nsider in creas in g th e
minimum wi dth of such right of ways to 30 or 40 feel. There arc a numb er of reaso ns for doin g so . Th e Tow n
wo uld be bett er ab le to provide bett er bllffcrin g be twee n th e path and adjacent houses , Lhu s enh anc in g th e pri vHcy
(lnd sec urity of tho se homes . Ternlin in many areas of th e Town di ctates a mod cnl tc leve l of ea rthmo vi ng
necessary to crea te a path with a un i form grade . In some cases an area up to 30 fee t wide ma y be disturbed in th e
process of co nstnt ctin g a 10 foo t wid e pa lh . F inall y, additio na l rig ht of way width wo uld allow more op portunity
to vary th e ali g nm ent ora path and to in co rporat e hHld sc;:\pe plantings to sc ree n un s ig htl y views and enhan ce it s
(It1ractiveness for pa Lh use rs.
Mos t trail ri ght-of-way s have bec n ac quir ed thro ugh perman ent ease ment or outri ght acquis iti on. Th e entir e East
Itha ca Recreat ion Way and a short port ion of th e SOlli h Hill Rccrcill ion Way , howeve r, arc 10Ctl Ied on land for
which th e Tow n has onl y revo cab le licenses . These lice nses. from Co rn ell University for th e East Ith aca tra il , and
New York Sla te E lec lri c and Gas Co rpo ra ti o n (NYSEG) for 1,300 fl . of th e Sout h Hi ll trail , ca n be revo ked up on
ninery (90) days noti ce 10 th e Tow n by th e respectiv e ow ner.
T he poss ibility of revoki ng th ese licenses n1(:1 y be re mote , ye t it is so methin g th e Tow n ha s to co nsid er an d address .
In the case o f th e So uth Hi ll Recreation Way , the issue has bee n reso lve d by an agree ment betwee n the Town and
the City . Acco rdin g to Ih e agreemen l. th e City . in Ih e event tha[ NYSEG revokes the Town 's lice nse , wi ll prov id e
the Town with an ease ment for an alternat ive rout e. T his new al ignm ent "vo ul d te rmin ate at Codd in gton Road
app roxima tely 1,000 fee t nort h of Kin g Road . Fo r th e Eas t Ith aca Rec rea ti on Way , howeve r,lh e re is no fallba ck
ro ute (Ivai Jable at thi s ti me, nor arc th ere any att ractive ca ndidate s for (I hern ati ve rou tes. Th e Town shoul d try to
ge t a perm anent ease ment or fee Litl e to th e und erl yi ng land to ass ure con tinu ed pub l ic li se of the Recreation Way .
Wes l Hill curre ntl y ha s no off-road bi cycle or pedestr ia n path s. Howeve r, t here is th e oppo rtun ity to deve lop an
int egra ted network of s uch pa th s co nn ec tin g res id entia l areas . parks , ce nt ers of e mpl oy m ent, nci ghb or hood
co mm ercial areas, and open space reso ur ccs as Wes t Hi ll grows i n th e co min g yea rs. If plHIlilCd now, these pa th s
ca n be deve loped co ncurr en tl y wi th th e deve lopmc nl o f new rcs id elll ia l neig hb orhood s.
Whi le So uth Hil l doe s have th c Sout h Hill Recreil t ion Way , its location lim it s its accessibility to Ill any re sid enl S in
the area . Also , th e resi dential deve lop ment in the Kin g RoadlRidgccrest RoadIDccr Run area is iso lated from th e
lower portion o f So ulh Hill a nd th e City, except by au tomobi le: a bicyc le/ped cs trian co nn ecto r from th e ci ty 10 Ih is
Hrea wo uld pro vi de bo th com mutin g alternatives and rec rea ti onal op portunitie s for residents who liv e tit th e top of
Ih e hill in the Eas t Ki ng, Troy and Ridgecrest Roads vici nity . Fort unat e ly. as wilh West Hill , the re is the
opportu nit y to c reate on So ulh Hill an inl egrated network ofpalh s co nnectin g res ide nti a l areas wi th parks , ce nlers
ofemp )oyme nt , neighbo rh ood cO llllll ercial areas , <HId open spa ce resources ,
26
Th e ut ilit y of ex istin g and futur e trai ls and rec reation ways ca n be enhance d by int eg ratin g them into a sys tem of
park s and open spa ce . Throu gh such integr ati o n th e pat hs beco me bo th tf(l Il Sp ort Hti on li nka ges betwee n home s.
wo rk , parks, ,mel ex te ns io ns o f th e p a rks Ih e m se lves. Th e So uth Hi ll Rec re at io n Wa y i ll u s trat es t he bene fil s of s uc h
an <.lpproa ch. By pa ss in g throug h th e fut ure Vin cc nzo Iacove lli Pmk sit e, it prov id es i:I dir ec t off·road co nn ec tion to
th e park from ove r 70 surr ou ndin g homes. T he So uth Hi ll Rec rea tion Wa y ca n also se rv e as a catalys t for th e
ac qui s it io n llnd deve lop ment of add it ion al park an d ope n space areas along it s length , Future trail s shou ld be
plann ed along ali g nm c lll s th at would all ow for a sirnil ar co mbination of path/park acq ui sition and deve lop ment
str ategies .
Reg ional S pa ce Vers us Needs
T he Town of Ilh aca is se rv iced by a n abunda nce o f reg io nal s pace as d e fin ed by Ih e N RPA, i nc ludin g
Ta ughan nock Fa ll s, All an H. Tre man, Robert H. Treman , and Butt ermi lk Fall s StHl e Pa rks . In addi ti on, seve ral
largc tr ac ts of stat e-prot ec tcd fores ts and wild life pr eserves arc availa ble ju st outs id e th e Tow n boundari es . The
State park s do pro vid e man y of the act iv iti es men ti o ned above , as do the c ity par ks, all of whic h are use d heav il y by
Tow n res id ent s. It should be noted. h oweve r ~ that alt hou gh th ese faci liti es 3re ava ilable to Tow n resi dents , (h ey are
not Tow n Par ks. The capa city in whi c h th ey se rv e th e 10C eli res ident s differs from th at ofa Town park .
In a 1989 re pon pub li s h ed by New York State O m ee of Parks , Re c re ati on a nd Hi stor ic Prese rv a ti on, e mill ed : New
Yo rk Stat ewid e Co mpr ehensive Outdoor Recrea ti on Pl an Hnd Gener ic Enviro nm ent al Impa ct SICll cmc nt it Sla tes :
"The Sla le a nd fe dc ra l governmenl s pl aya m ore limite d ro le in th e opera l io n o f fa ci liti es thai sa t i sry th e d ai ly
rec reatio n needs of New Yorke rs, howeve r, lh e s tell e ow ns sig nifi cant des ti na ti on op en space and recreation
(lcreage that arc ulU nat ched by any ot her pub lic entity. Siale ow ned recrea tion reso ur ces ar c fr equentl y uniqu e,
pic tur es qu e and e nv iro nm entall y se nsiti ve . Man y stat e ope rated faci liti es al so pro vid e e xt e nd ed stay oppo rtuniti es
whi ch all ow for g rea te r enj oy ment o f the stat ewi de resou rces ."
2. PROJECTED FUTURE NEE DS
The T own of Ithaca is well o n its way t o mee t in g th e fi rs l o f th e Goa ls se t fonh i n C h apte r Two : to "".p ro vide a n
int egra ted sys tem OfP l:lr ks and rec rea tio nal fac ilit ies throug hout th e Tow n ... " As it cO nlinu es to g row inlhe co min g
ye ar s, howeve r, it should ac quir e and deve lop add ili o J1 Cl I park and rec reat ional nl cili ti es and open spa ce ar eas ir it
is to maintain th e qu a lil Y o f its sys te m . Accord in g to popU lati o n projec t io ns in th e 1993 Compre he ns ive P la n, Ih e
Town of Ith aca ca n be ex p ec ted to be home to 18 ,400 pe rm a ne n l res id e nt s during I he yea r . T hi s 28 pe ree llt
in cre ase will requir e th e deve lopm ent of a numb er of new park an d rec rea ti on fa ci liti es betw ee n now and thell . By
plannin g now for futur e deman d, howeve r, th e numb er, size, and loc illi on o f th ese futur e park s can be op timi ze d.
27
Neighborhoo d Parks
In th e cat egory of ne ig hb o rh ood parks, a cco rdin g to th e NRPA s ta nd ards th e Tow n today h as mo re th a n adequme
ac reage to meet de ma nd for s uc h pa rks t h rough th e year 20 I O. T he Town has a tOlal o f 6 1 acres ava il ab le for
ne ig hb o rh oo d pa rk d eve lop me nt, ve rs us a proj ec ted nee d of 18.4 to 36 .8 acres. Howeve r, as s lated a bove , these
pa rks arc un eve nl y d is tri b uted thro ug h th e T ow n . Eas t Hill is re la ti ve ly we ll se rv ed with th e excep tio n of th e
Clo ver La ne/M ap le Hill area. So uth Hill a nci Wes t Hill are no t served as wel l. Alth o ug h tlt e tow n has a n easeme nt
to usc an d main tai n th e ba ll fi e ld a t Soul h Hill's Codd in gto n Roa d Com munity Ce nt e r, th at si te is too iso la ted to
serve as a ne ig hbo rh ood park fo r t he maj ori ty o f So ulh Hill res id e nt s . T o e ns ure Ih a t Ih e re is a ne ig hbo r hoo d park
within 1/5 to 3/4 mil e walk ofm es l Town res id ents, seve ral new such p:uks will be nee ded.
In the case of So uth Hill , Ih e prob lem appea rs 10 be o ne of di s tributi o n: th e ex is tin g pa rk s a r c not as ee nlrall y
loca ted to ex i sti ng res id enti al popu lati ons as is dcs imb lc. Th is situ ation wou ld im prove i f future deve lop ment in th e
area i s channeled to a number of lar ge tr ac ts of hind in th e Co ddin gton Road and Da nby Road areas . Do in g so
wou ld i ncrea se th e numb er of res id ent s within walkin g di stance of th e ex istin g Tro y Park and No rth vicw Park , and
th e und eve lope d Mo nt esso ri and Vin ce nzo Ia cove lli sites , It would also li mit th c nee d for additiona l neig hb orh oo d
parks on outh Hill to onc or two : on e in th e area bctw ee n Sto ne Qua rry Road and Danby Road , shou ld that area
expe ri ence s ignifi ca nt res id enti al g row th, rind o ne to se rv e th e ex istin g Chase Farm neig hbor hood .
On Wes t Hill th e pr oblem is th e la ck of publi c park , rec reat ion and ope n space faci liti es to se rve th e area , As th at
po rti o n of th e Town d eve lops the re wi ll be th e need fo r a numb e r of neig hb o rh oo d park s . G ive n th e a nti c ipat ed
deve lo pm e nt patte rn s on Wes t Hil l, u p to six additio nal neig hbo rh ood parks ma y be nee ded in Ihe co min g decades .
Thi s wi ll ensure a network of such park s wi thin easy walkin g di stance of th e futu re homes s lated for th e area in th e
1993 Co mpre he ns ive Pla n.
Co mmunit y or A rea Parks
Over th e nex t tw o deca des th e Town of It haca wil l need to develop o ne o r mo re co mmun ity o r area parks . T h e
primary re aso n for thi s is th at many of t he fa ci liti es nee ded to acco lllm odate acti ve rec rea ti on are ofa type whi ch
arc not a ppropria te for nei g hbo rh ood-sca le p'trk s. So me of th ese activ iti es , s uc h as o rga ni zed so ftba ll , baseba ll ,
socce r, etc., ca n au rac t a large r number of use rs, fr om a broa der ar ea th an th e im mediat e ne ighb orhoods , and tend
to gc nenll c leve ls of noise whic h require distance to att enuate . Ot her acti viti es , such as co mmunity-w id e fe sti va ls
a nd large g'tlhcrings s uc h as fami ly re uni o ns, re quire bO lh a larger sca le fa c ilily 10 acco mmodate th e number o f
parti cipant s th ey can attr act , and to ensure adeq uat e buffe ring for adjacen t res id enti al areas ,
Beca use mos t area park use rs wo uld li ve beyo nd wa lkin g di stan ce , traffi c impa ct and parkin g faci lit ies arc marc
imp ort ,lnt des ign co nsidenHions for th ese park s th an for neighborhood parks . Future arca pa rks should be loct-ued
in such a way that they do not adve rse ly impa ct surroundin g res id enti al str ee ts.
Te rr ain is an importan t fa ctor in loca tin g co mmunity or area park s. The types of at hl eli c fa ci liti es cO lllm on to such
parks requi rc large, leve l ar eas. T hu s th e sit e should co ntain suffici ent areas with slopes of fi ve per ce nt or less.
O th erwi se large amo unt s ofea nhmovin g, at co nsiderabl e ex pense and enviro nmen tal di srupti on, wo uld be
necess ary to deve lop these faci li ties .
\Vhil e th e Tow n curren tl y do cs 11 0t have any are ~1 parks , th ere ar e poss ibili ti es for deve lop in g such par ks in th e
fluure on Wes t Hill and in Inl et Va ll ey. Bot h th e Sa poni Meadows subdivi sion and Gle ndal e Farm subdi vis io n park
land dedi cation s arc large enou gh to sup pon at leas t so me of til e faci liti es comm on to area park s. Eac h site also
fecltures areas of nat or ge ntl y rol lin g land lar ge enou gh to acc omm oda te athl etic fi elds.
Water-Oriented Rccrc4Ition
As th e TOW Il of Itha ca con tinu es to grow it ca n ex pec t th e demand for wa ter-orie nted rec rea ti on to grow as we ll.
Acco rdin g to lh e State Co mprehensive Ou td oo r Rec reati on Plan , swi mmin g pool s and beaches are amo ng th e top
fi ve ex pressed fac iliti es nee ded by th e publi c. Swi mmin g pools were co nsistellll y ranke d as a top nee d i n all reg ions
of the stat e.
As stat ed in Chapt er T hr ee, th e Tow n docs not ha ve any publicly ow ned ,1CCCSS to Cay ug.a Lak e. In stea d, Town
res id ent s rely on Stewart Park an d Cass Park as th eir prim ary acce ss point s fo r waterfront rec rea tio n. Howeve r,
neith er of th ese fa ciliti es are des igned fo r or int en ded to serve a reg ional ne ed, and arc show in g ev id ence or
ove m se . T he Town of It.h aca, if it des ires 10 pro vid e it s reside nt s wit h publi c access to Cay uga Lak e, should
i nves ti gate a coope rati ve arnlnge ment with Co rn ell Uni ve rsity . The Uni ve rsi ty 's Lake Source Coo lin g Proj ec t
mi ght afford such a n opportu ni ty for publi c access at th e Eas t Shore Sa il ing lake fr o nt prope rty on Eas t Sho re
Drive
Based on th e Nationa l Rec reation an d Pa rk Associat io n stand ards, Ihe re shou ld be one publi c sw imm ing po o l per
20,000 resi de nt s. T he Cass Park and Alex Ha ley po ols opew ted by the City of Ith aca , if th e Town of Ith aca and
V illage of Lan sin g are co unt ed in their se rv ice area , currentl y serve a perm anent resi dent popu laUo n of
appro xim ate ly 36 ,000 peo pl e. T h is se rvi ce popU lation is within th e NRPA sta nd a rd s. Give n a p roj ec ted popUlation
of 18,400 pe rm a nent res ident s by Ul e yea r 20 10, it does not a pp ea r that the Tow n wi ll nee d to deve lop such a
fa ci lil y be tween now a nd the n . How ever, the co mbin ed popula ti on g rowlh of th e Town of IUla ca a nd Vill age of
Lan sin g ca n be ex pec ted (0 reac h or Sllrp[l SS th e optimum se rvi ce pop ul ati on or th e two City poo ls aro und th e yea r
29
20 10. At that tim e, th e need for a third sw immin g poo l ma y arise and, give n it s c:lllticipat cd populat io n, th e Town
s ho uld be prepared to co ns id e r s uc h a faci lity .
Region al SI1:lCC
There is not expected to be any need for th e Town of Ith aca to sup p ly additio nal regiona l-type park fa c iliti es in th e
co ming decades. Th e pr ov isio n of additi ona l park spac e in the neighb or hood, and ar ea park catego ri es is ex pec ted
to adeq uate ly serve th e needs of Town re s id e nt s . Moreover, th e d eve lopmen t of a n additiona l 54 to 120 acre s of
close-lo-home space ne eded to mee t th e NRPA sland ard s outlin ed in Figure 4-3 ., in clu ding ,:\rea parks , ca n case
so me prob lems of ovcnlse ex peri enced by th ose fa ciliti es .
The Town is also in a position 10 co ntr ibute directly to th e inv ent ory of regiona l spa ce il S rc side nlhll deve lopm e nt
ocellI'S in th e co min g decades . A number of large tra cts of land abu ttin g Butt erm ilk Fa ll s. Robert H. Trc man . (lnd
A ll an H . Treman Slate Pa rks ma y be s ubdivid ed and developed in lhe near future . In addition, there are seve ral
tnlc ts adj acent to th e City W(.ltcrs hed and M ulh olland Wildflower Preserve , th e Coy Gle n and Clausen Swam p
Nalural Areas of Cornell Planta tio ns , a nd Ih e Sweedler Preserve (Lick Brook) of lh e F in ge r Lakes Land Trustl hat
co uld ex peri ence development in th e nea r fu tu re .
Due to th eir locat ions, the chmacter of th e lerr Hin , and cx peclcd slllH lI nee d for park space to serve th cln and th e
surroundin g area , the use of clus ter subdi vis ion co mb i ned with park and open spac e dedi cati on co uld result in
substantial add itions to these lo ca l recreat ion and open space asset s. Such meth ods offer th e opponuni ty to increa se
the amount of natum l buffer space between the co rc areas of th ese parks or preserves and new residen tia l
deve lopm ent, prov ide Hdditio nal re gio nal park spac e, and prot ect se nsitive cco l og ica l re so urces .
T he Town wou ld forego the opportunity to in c rea se Ih e s ize of it s park sys tem , ei th e r throu g h acquisition o f la nd ,
or by loss of any po ss ibl e fees in li e u of la nd , by u sin g its powers und er its s ubdi v is ion regu lations to e n large th e
above ment io ned properties . AI th e sa me time however it wo uld ach ieve a maj or goa l of th e 1993 Comprehens iv e
Plan <IS we ll as th e goa ls and objec ti ves of thi s Plan by pr eservi ng cri tica l ope n spa ce and eco log ica l resources , and
doin g so in a mann er th at red uces th e T ow n's futur e operming and ma in te nance cos ts, and potentia lliabi l il)'
expos ure Ih at would result from Town assumption of ow ners h ip of t he land.
3. COMPLIAN C E WITIl THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES AC T OF 1990
tlA ccess to re creation facilities and o llt door developed re c reation arens is a va l uable right for people with and
wi th our disabi/W es." Recrea ti on Acce.I(s Advisory Comm itt ee , ADA A ccc~~ OOll rd,
30
T he Ame ri ca ns with Disabiliti es Ac t of 1990 (ADA) prohibits di sc rimin a ti on o n th e bas is of di sability . The Ac t
req u ir es th a t. to th e ex te nt prac ti ca bl e, a ll fac ilit ies opene d to th e ge ne ra l publi c , rega rd less of wheth e r th ey a re
pu b licl y o r pri va te ly own ed , mus t be access ib le to a ll pe rsons rega rd less oflh c ir p hysica l ca pabi l iti es , It is
int e nd ed , a mo ng oth e r thin gs, to o pe n up loc al governme nt serv ices suc h as park s a nd rec reH tio na l fac iliti es to th e
43 milli on A me r ica ns wi th diS<1 biliti es .
If the Tow n o f Itha ca is La meet th e goa l o f thi s pl a n II •• .To p rovide fo r ad equ a te rec re ati o na l serv ices fo r a ll Town
res id e nt s ...• " th e T own will need to integra te th e access ibility requi re me nts o f the A me ri ca ns w ith Di sa bi liti es Ac t
int o th e p la nning a nd des ig n o f a ll future pa rk fac iliti es . In additi o n , it nee d s to ev a lu at e a ll ex istin g fa c il it.i es fo r
com pli a nce with ADA require ment s , and e mb ark o n a program to upg ra de th ose fac il ities to mee t th e new
s ta nd a rd s fo r access ibility . Ma ny o f th e T ow n's pa rks a re not in co mpli a n ce with ADA s ta nd a rd s. They a rc
es pe ci~l l1 y d e fi cie nt in th e ADA sta ndard s for i:lccessib le ro ut es a nd asse m bly a reas.
Un de r ADA s ta nd ard s a n access ibl e rOllte mu s t be co ns tru cted in a ma nn e r th a t res ult s in a "firm, s tab le, a nd s li p
resis ta nt " s urface in a ll ty pes o f weathe r conditi o ns , Tn additi o n, th e route mu s t be a t a g radi e nt th at is no t
excessive , ge ne ra ll y not exceed i ng a I : 12 s lo pe, a nd o f a w id th Hdeq ua te to acco mm od a te a wh ee lch a ir o r pe rson a l
w a lke r , Th e ro ut e mll st co nn ec t a ll acti vity a reas within a park or rec rea ti o n fa ci lity. in c ludin g co mfo rt fa ci liti es
a nd p a rkin g a rcas. Beca use o f th e ir des ign th e cx istin g Tow n pa rk s lack the type of path sys tc ms th a t wo uld qu a li fy
as "access ibl e routes ," I n most o f th e p a rk s th e p<llh sys te m beyo nd t he entrance pa Ol co ns ists o f woo d c hi p o r tur f
pa th s, and se mi -deve loped woo dl a nd hikin g trai ls . Large a reas of th e pa rk sys te m are thu s in access ible to di sa b led
res id e nt s .
Ma ny asse mbl y areas w ithin Town pa rk s a lso fa il to mee t ADA s ta nd a rd s fo r accessi bility, T hese in c lud e a me nit ies
s uc h as pl ay s tnl ctures . be nc hes, a thl e ti c field s. a nd pi c ni c a reas . T hese prob le ms of access ib ility ca n, in la rge
mC<ls ure, be reso lve d by up gra din g th e path sys te ms within Tow n park s to AD A sta nd a rd s. O ne exa mp le wo u ld be
co nstruc tin g il s uitab ly pa ve d pat h betwee n a d es ig na ted lm nd ica pp ed pa r kin g s pa ce and a paved a rea adjace nt to
th e pl ay in g fi e ld at Eas te rn Heig ht s Pa rk . (Rec rea ti on Acces s Advisory Co mmitt ee , ADA Access Boa rd , Ju ly
199 4 ). In so me cases howeve r, modifi ca ti o ns (0 speci fi c fac ilit ies wit hi n a park, s uc h as in d ividu al pi c n ic si tes o r
play s t.n1 c tur es , may be requi re d .
3 1
AIvIERlC 4NS WfTH DfSABfUTfES/I CT & TOWN PARKS --'J'ffE C HALLENGE
Access ibl e Route . Accessib le ro ut es o f suitab le s ur fac in g are req uired betwee n a ll accessibl e buildings , pla ces of
assembly , co mfo n fa c iliti es, and oth e r re c rea ti o na l, cult ura l, o r sce n ic c lem e nt s o f a pa rk , in clud in g fie ld s or
play fo r sport s . An "accessi ble ro ul e" is dclin cd as bein g" A co ntinu ous un obs tru cted pa th co nn ec ting all
access ible clemen ts or a buildin g or fa cility ... rand] may in clude co rridors. Ooor s, ramps , eleva tors, lift s, and
clear fl oo r spa ce at fi xtures ",pmkin g access ai sles , curb ramp s, crossw alks at ve hi cular ways , wa lk s, ramp s, and
lirt s . "
Asse mb ly Areas. The ADA d efiniti o n or access ible goes beyo nd th e prov is ion o r a n access ib le rou te . Faci liti es to
acco mm oda te th e spccia lnce ds of lh e disabl ed mu st <:l l so be I11Hd e avai lab le at the asse mbl y area at th e end of
th eir route. An "as se mbly area" is defin ed as a roo m or space accom moda tin g i:I group of individual s for
rec rea tio nal, ed uca tio nal, po litica l, soc ial, or amu se ment purposes , or fo r the co nsumpti on of food and drink . In
a park an assc mbly tHea ca n lake a variety of for ms, for exa mpl e an open law n area , (\ pi cnic pavilion , a play
stru cture, or bleac hers at a ba seba ll diamond or other spon s facility . Assemb ly areas must accommo date th e
needs of th e di sa bled, inclu din g, for in stan ce , a fixe d co mpanion seat adjace nt to eac h whec lchair seH ting (u ea .
In man y in stan ces th e modifi cat ions nee ded ca n be relative ly sim ple and inexpensive . An exa mpl e is th e provi sio n
of access ibl e picni c faci lit ie s. In ge nera l, thi s has required providin g an app ropriate numb er ofsil es with a picnic
tab le d es ign ed to a ll ow a perso n in a wheelc ha i r to p ull u p to th e tab le ; e ns u ring th a t th e heigh t o rlhe g rill is
appropria t e ~ that ul e entire area is pa ved to ensure ease of mobility. The sit e must also be co nn ec ted by accessible
route to th e main path system o r the park . Today it takes no s pecia l offon to provide a nd equip th ese types o f
facili ties with tab les , gri ll s, and oth er app li ances necessary to acco mlllodat e th e nee ds of handi cappe d use rs . These
produ cts are readily ava il ab le from pmk an d recreatio n supplie rs nat iollwide .
The access ibility of pl ay stn.l ctures wi thin Town parks is an imp ort ant iss ue wi th rega rd to co mpli ance with ADA
s ta nd a rds . These rac iliti es q mtli ry as asse mbl y areas , a nd as s uc h mus t be d es ig ne d to be access ibl e to di sab led
res id ent s . Alth ough a detail ed assess ment of eac h play slmcture is necessary to determi ne th e ex tent o f
nonco mpli ance Wilh the ADA standard s, in ge ne ral th e Tow n's pla y stru c tur es s hare s imil ar defi ciencies. Th e
primary de fi cie ncy with regard to ADA is th e lack of firm , stabl e, and skid rcs is lalll s urface around and ben eath
individual p lay stntc tures. T he s ta ndilfd pea s tone grave l use d by the Parks Depart me nt und e r pl ay stnt c tures docs
not provid e th e type or s urH,ce nee ded .
In addi ti on , th e play slnlctur cs th emse lves mu st be co nstm clcd in a mann er lh at allows access by pe rso ns wit h
disabilitie s. As with o th er ra ci lities wi thin Town park s, th e modifi ca t io ns to ex is tin g p lay s tntctures need ed to
co mp ly with ADA s ta ndards arc lik ely to be rela l ive ly si mpl e. T he)' ma y in c lu de reatures s uch as" tra nsre r
platform to <lHow a chi ld who lI ses a wheelc hai r to leave the wh ee lchair and Hceess th e pl ay stm ctur e. This and
oth er modifi ca ti ons can res ult in play stru ctur es th at C::ln co mply wi th th e law Cl od i n doin g so be tt cr serve all
children of t he Tow n.
32
In th e futur e, th e deve lopm ent of park IlIld rec rea ti o nal fa cil iti es by th e Tow n of Ith aca s hou ld in co rp o ra te, by
des ign, co mpli a nce with ADA sta nd a rds to th e cx tent prae ti ca bl c. Whil e fu ll co mplia nce wi th ADA sta nd a rd s is a
hi g hl y des irab le go al , th ere arc, and will be, cc rt a in park and opc n space fa ci liti es ow ned by th e Tow n th a t, by th eir
nal ur e, ca nn ot comp ly with ADA stand ards , nor und er ADA are th ey expec ted 10. Amo ng slich f<lcil ili es arc
outd oo r rec rea ti on areas th at (lrc int end ed to be left in a natur al or se mi ·natu ra l co nditi on, wi th minim al
deve lop me nt.
Also , in th e Tow n of Ilh ac,1 lCTmi n can be a mtljor obstac le to ac hievi ng co mpli ance with ADA stand ard s. The "hill
sec ti o n" of th e So ut h Hill Recre at io n Way is a n exa mple of th e pr ob le m of ba lancin g co mpli a nce wi th ADA
stand ard s and loca l te rrain . To mce t ADA stan dards wo ul d tt(lve required that porti on of th e pmh to be at ove r 2.5
tim es longe r Ih an it is --4 ,000 feet instea d of I,SOO -- w ith sig nifi can tl y increase d cos t and e nv iron me nt al
di sru pti on. However whil e (ha l po rti on or th e Rec realio n Way may nol co mply wi th th e ADA standard s, th e
pl ace me nt of be nches a nd lev el pull -olf res t arc<\s mitiga tes so mew hat th e pro bl ems to ha ndicap ped use rs of
nonco mpli ance .
Des pit e th e ch<lll e nges pose d by te rr ain and oth er ph ysica l co nstr aint s, the Tow n of Ith aca , ca n co mpl y to th e
ex tent pract ica bl e wilh the requ irement s of th e Amer ica ns with Dis .. Jb iti ties Ac t. Increased se ns itivity in th e
pl annin g and des ign stages of pa rks and rec reati onal fac iliti es can res ult in hi gh quality ADA-co mpli a nt faci liti es
at littl e Or no ad di tio nal co t.
33
C HAPTER FIVE
RECOMMENDATIONS: PARK AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES
I. INT RODU CTION
Thi s c hap ter sy nth esizes t.h e Goa ls and Objec ti ves outlined in Chapt er On e, and th e iss ue s rai se d in Chap ters Two
and Three illl o a se ri es of reco mm endati ons for th e Town of Ilha ca. So me o f th ese proj ec ts [n ay be ca rri ed out
so lely by th e Town , whi le oth e rs co uld be co operative effort s wil h neighbor in g mu ni cipalili es, New York Stat e,
not-fo r-p rofit con se rvan cies , deve loper s, or pri vmc land ow ners. Throu gh such coo perative ve ntur es the To wn ca n
mee t th e park , rec reation , and open spa ce go al s of th i s Plan in th e Ill os t cos t efficie nt ll UlIln cr poss ibl e. Thi s report
reco mm end s that :
I . T he Tow n of Ith aca striv e to deve lop an amb iti ous co re sys tem of park s provid in g 10 ac res of
close-to-home spa ce per 1,000 peo pl e.
2. Th e Town of Itlw ea emb ark on a two-prong effo rt to enSure th at, to th e ex tent pra ct.i cab le, it s
eillire park sys tem co mpli es fu ll y with th e requirement s of th e A merica ns W iLh D isa bi liti es Ac t.
T hese recom mend ati ons wi ll ensure that Tow n res id ents , now and in th e fllL ur e, will co ntinu e to enj oy a hi gh
qu ality of life with en_han ce d hea lth , fitn ess , and rec rea ti onal opportu niti es. Thi s deve lopi ng park sys tem wi ll have
110 acres of neighborh oo d an d mea park s and undeve loped natural area s. It will be int ercon nec Led by a 70-a cre
netw ork of grc enways th ro ugh wh ich will run som e 28 mil es of bi cycle and pedes tri an path s. Wh en co mplete d, thi s
park sys tem will pr ovid e 10 ac res of close-Io-ho me space per 1,000 peo pl e. II wi ll rank hig h acco rdin g to t he
NRPA standard s, whi c h call for 6.25 to 10.5 ac res of pa rk s per 1,000 peop le.
Th ere arc many site s in the Tow n of Ith aca that arc appropriat e for co mmunity parks . To ac quire th ese sites for
anticipat ed fULU re park nee ds, the T ow n should use a co mbin ati on of par k and op en space dedi c<'lLio ns throu gh it s
subdi vision approv a l pro cess , a nd purc ha se where necessiHy. Map II 5-1 prese nt s sugges ted locations for future
park loc at io ns.
Aggre ss iv e plannin g fo r park deve lopm e nt now wi ll payo ff in the fUlllr e. T hese fa ciliti es should be pl a nn ed whil e
hi gh qua lit), park siles , pede strian a nd bi cyc le rout es , a nd important eco log ica l open s pace reso ur ces a re still
und ev eloped and ava ilab le. Th e plannin g op portunili es th e Town currentl y has wi ll dimi nis h as deve lopm ent
occu rs in th e co min g years. By pl annin g (:I nd l akin g acti on now th e tow n can mee t goa ls in th e 111 0s t effi cie nt and
cos t-e ffec tiv e mann er for ta xpaye rs.
~ .... au; ttO 'I> ....
TOVN Dr ITHACA
1997 PARK
RECREA nON 8.
OPEN SPACE PLAN
DECEMBER 1997
MAP 5-1
PROPOSED FUTURE
PARKS S. BICYC LE/
PEDES TRIAN PATHS
KEY
® f"UTlIR£: t<E(GH8D..~I1OJO PARI<
~ rUT UR( COMMUNI TY PARK
® IM.ET VAL LE Y PR ESERVE
____ r uT ~E a[iCE/PED(SnUAtf
....
~
PATH
PROPOSED BLACK DIAMOND
TRAI L (H .Y. S TATE)
EXISTlNCi rO\lN PARX/
RECREATION rACILIrY
o 5.000 rT
L '
SCA LE
_ ~P""l!:U n .
TC .... N [F ITHACA
PLAA.'1IHG OCPAR TMENT
12'& [;>'sf U>d:C" SIII{(1
II-r ..... ' I .r.~
General Recommen dati ons
T he foll owin g are a number of ge neral rcc om rncndation s related to park , rec reati on, and open spa ce plannin g in
th e T own of Ith aca .
I. Investigate Co nso lidati on of Town Park Sys tem Wit h Oth e r Loca l Systems. T he T o wn of Itha ca
s hould in vestigate th e fea s ibili ty of jo ining wi th th e C it y of Ith a ca , a nd th e V ill a g es of Lan s ing and
Cay uga Height s, in a con soli dated park sys tem, Co nsoli dati on of park sys tems would elim inat e
dupli cat ion of effo rtS and facili ties , and th e li se of opli mi ze scarce pub lic res ource s.
2. Contin ue Efforts Towar d Co ns o lidati on of Rccrc iltional Pro grams . In 1995 th e Re c reati on
Pann ership . an ex peril1l c nUll tw o-ye ar pil ot pr ognl m wa s es tabli s hed by tw e lve ofTolllpkin s Co unty 's
sixteen municipaliti es , includin g th e Town of It hac a. The Partn ership all ows full access by res id e nts of
paJ'ti c ipalin g l11uni ci paliti c.s to all pro g ram s offered by th e Cit y of Ith aca Youth Bureau . Additiona ll y ,
City own ed faci liti cs at Cass and S tewa rt Park have bec n use d for th cse rec reati onal pr og ram s , and City
sta ff res pons ib le for pro g ra m admini stra tio n.
35
Th e T own of Ith ac a s hou ld cont inu e mov in g toward th e cO ll solidm ed de liv ery of rec reati ona l se rvi ces to
its yo uth and oth er res id ent s. T he Town nO\v reli cs all the rec rea tional pr og ram s and filci liti cs av ailabl e
throu g h th e Recremio n Pannc rs hip to pro vid e rec rea ti o n a l progf'd mm in g fo r it s youth . Thes e a re suppli ed
th ro ugh the Pa rtn ership at a cost that is sub stantiall y less th an ir th e T own wer e to offcr such
pro grdmmin g on it s ow n.
A cOlllmit1 cc appo int ed by ul e Par tn ershi p municip alities has revi ewed th e pro grams and bud ge ts and has
reco mm end ed some pro gram im pr ovc ment s and co st savin gs. In add iti on, th c commi ttee ha s developed a
plan to sustai n and strength en se rvic es through 19 98. Thi s pl an is co nti nge nt upon ;:} co ntinu ed financi al
co mmitm ent or th e TO\vn or Ith aca and oth er panicipanl s. As long as it is to the Town's benefi t
financi all y, it should co nlinl.l c to Pflrti cip at e.
The re are a lready loc a l mode ls fo r s ll c h in te rmuni e ip a l coope ra t io n : So uthe rn C ayu ga Lake lnte r mllni c ip a l Wate r
Sys te m, Itha ca A rca Wa ste Wat e r T rea tm e nt Pl a nt , a nd the lt ha ea Fire De p<1ftm e nt a re three s uccess fu l
pa nn er ship s in vo lvin g th e Town of It ha ca. Part nership s on an inrormal ba si s includ e th e Ea st Itl mca <l nd So uth
Hill Re c rea tio n Ways , w hi ch se rv e bo th c it y and town reside nt s .
3. Estahlish a Policy 1'01" Naming Park Fac ilities. T hc Tow n of Ith ac a s ho uld es ta blis h a po licy to be
use d in th e nHmin g of T own park s. T hi s poli cy lIl ay includ e a li st of names th e T own may w()nt to ass ign
to pmk s in spec ifi c areas . T he T own should also deve lop guide lin es for memoriali z ing donat io ns of la nd
or money fo r the purpo se of enhan c in g the Tow n 's pmk sys tem, Th ese gui de lin es wo uld be simil ar in
naturc to those use d by co \l eges a nd uni vc rsi ti es .
36
The naming of Town parks is currently an ad hoc process , w ith no fo rm al guidelines fo r c hoos in g park n ames .
Man y Tow n park s bear t he nam e of a surrou ndin g subdivi sion or adjoi nin g str ee t, o r th e wo rkin g name app li ed by
stilfT during a prelimi nary plannin g pha se . T he se l ec ti on of Town park na mes i s a n oppo rtunity fo r the Town to
ca ll attent ion to a uniq ue a ttribut e of a loca ti on, or to memOr ii.l lize an eve nt or perso n of sig nifi c(l ll ce in Town
hi story .
By es tab li shi ng such guid e lin es . th e Town can e nco ur age priv;He cont ribu tions 10 th e deve lop me nt of it s park
sys tem of th e futur e. Wit hin th e pa st lWO ye~Hs th ere have bee n donat io ns ofa pa rk sit e, pi ny g round equ ipm e nt ,
a nd the offe r o f a bi cycle/pedes trian path case ment in honor of o ne or more perso ns. Ot her Town res id ent s may
wis h to co ntribut e to th e Town for suc h purpose.
4. Use Private Sector Co ntractors for Major C allital Improve ment s to Parks. Today t he Tow n Park s
tinct Hi g ll'.va y Departme nt s arc res pon si ble fo r ca pital improvem ent s to th e parks sys tem in th e T ow n o f
Ith aca . However as th e sys te m ha s g rown , mo re staff a nd eq uipm ent reso urces have been a l1 oc~\ted to
ma in tenance ac ti viti es. Rece nt ex per ie nce has s hown th a t it is not as feas ib le a s it once was for th e tw o
departm ent s to e mb ark on major co nstm c li on proj ec ts an d atlhe sa me tim e ma int ai n the ex isti ng road and
park inf ras tru cture . No r do the Town Plannin g and Eng in ee rin g DcpHft lll e nt s hav e th e staff reso urces
req ui re d to de sig n an d ove rsee co nslnl ction of major proj ects . T he Town s houl d thu s co nsi de r co n tracti ng
out to pri va te seC lor co ntractor s th e de sig n a nd co nstru cti on o f m<uor capita l improve mc nt proj ec ts for it s
park s.
5. TaJl Volunteerism to Help C are For T ow n Park and OJlen SJla ee Asse ls. T he Town of Ith aca
should e nco ur agc th e es tabli s hm e nt o r one or mo re "fri end s o f til e park s" group s to ass ist in th e car e or it s
park sys tem. Suc h g roup s have bee n pro ve n to be ex treme ly success fu l in com muniti es ac ross th e na tio n.
Th ey have se rv ed as supp li e rs of vo luntcc r labo r to supp le ment th e reso ur ces of Illuni cipa l park
depa rt men ts, a nd have ra ise d money for park im prove me nt pr oj ec ts throug h a vmie ty o f fun d raisi ng
mec hanis ms . In some co mmuniti es sll c h g roup s have redu ce d in ci de nt s of park va nd alis m Hnd res u ltin g
hi g he r park maint e nan ce costs th ro ug h in c reased neighb orh ood vigil an ce. A numb e r of Town res ide nt s
ha ve a lrea dy sugges ted so me SO I1 of ci ti ze ns ' orga n iza ti on (0 Tow n staJT. Th e City of Ith aca t hro ug h
Cooperat iv e Ex te nsion ha s a lso had so me success in ta ppin g ci ti ze n vo lunt eers throu gh th e M;.lste r Prun er
prog ra m.
6. Aggr essive ly Purs ue Gra nl 0ppol·lunili.s. T he Tow n o f Ilha ca, in adop lin g lhi s Plan , will posit io n
itse lf to sec k matching grant fun ding from a varie ty of outsi de SO urces . More and morc gra nt pro g ram s
requ ire lh a l applicants have i n p lace a n up to dale park a nd o pe n space plan lh a t bolh docu me nls local
nee ds a nd prov id es a co he re nt fram ewo rk for meetin g th ose needs . Wi lh thi s Pla n in place lhe Town
sho ul d beg in pur suin g out sid e fu ndin g for ac qui s ition and ca pita l im prove me nt projec ts wi th in it s pa rk
sys te m.
Meetin g th e Nee d for C lose-Io-Ho me S I,a ce: Nei g hh orh oo d Parks
37
In the co min g decades , the Tow n of I thaca should deve lop neighborhood pa rks to serve ,}f ens lh (:lt ex perien ce
res id ential deve lop ment. FUlUr e park des igns shoul d be ncxib le in both fO fm and fun cti on, com bining pa rk land,
open spa ce , and tfa il dedi ca ti o ns to bes t se rve th e nee ds ort hc co mllltllli[y. The goa l is 1O provid e a pub li c pa rk
wit hin reasonab le wa lking di stan ce ormOS l homes . Bui lding pa rk s according to the accepted NRPA standards wi ll
help optimi z.e the cos t of mai ntenance o r th e Tow n's park sys tcm.
Eas t Hill
A sma ll park is nee ded to se rv e th e Maple Ave nu clM it c he ll Street/Homes tea d C irc le area. The re is a la rge
pop ulati on or yo un g children in th c area , mo st o r whom li ve in th e large ~lp<lrtlll e nt co mpl exes at Map le Hi ll and
Maplewo od .(Map 5-1)
South Hill
Two neig hbo rh oo d pa rk s are reco mm end ed to co mpl eme nt Nort hv icw Pa rk and Troy Park . Th e Town ha s acq uir ed
th e 3.5-ac re V in ce nzo (acove lli s il e for o ne of these propose d new park s. T he seco nd pa rk s ho ul d be located wi thin
o r nea rb y lh e Chase Farm deve lopmen t. Pla ns to connecllhese propose d a nd ex isl ing par k s wit h a fulur e
co mmunity park , a nd a fU lure nel work of bi cyc le a n d pe destria n linkages to serve th e neig hb or hood park needs of
So uth Hill reside nt s in lh e co min g decades are pre se nt ed lale r in thi s c hap te r unde r Uniq ue S pace : Bicyc le a nd
Pedes trian Fac iliti es.
The Town or Ith aca is expec ted to ac qu ire thr ough the sub div ision park Hncl open space dedi cat ion pr ocess a
ne ig hborhood pa rk site w ith i n th e Butlerm ilk Va ll ey Estates deve lop me nt. Th is pa rk wi ll adequa tely serve lh e
rutur e hom es in lhal area of the tOW Ii .
If in fut ure years eX le ns ive res id e ntia l d eve lo pm e nt is approved in th e a rea bo und ed by D'l nby Road o n the east and
Slo ne Quarry Road on lh e soul h and wes t, th e acq ui sition and deve lopme nl of a nei g hb orhood pmk ma y be
des irab le in tha t area .
38
The Tow n s hould a lso di spose of Ih e 1.5 ac re Co mp lo n Road pa rk sil e lo cmed o n So ulh Hill. Thi s si le wa s
ac quir ed as P(lrt ora subdiv ision approv ed in 1986. At th al Lim e a cul Mde-sac road northw ard fro m Co mpto n Road ,
and" 20 fool wid e ri g hl of way fro m Ihe end ofl hat cui-d e-sac were 10 provide access 10 Ih e park . Th e subd iv ision
as approv ed co nsists of four lots alo ng Co mpl on Roacl , wi th the proposed roa d to se rv e a seco nd pha se IOCH tcci
behind Ih e lOIs on Comp lon Road . No 101 co n.fi gu rali on for Ihe seco nd pha se is show n on Ih e appr ove d plat , and no
tim etab le for co nstru cti on of th e roa cl is give n,
In re ce nt yea rs sig nifi cH llt wet land areas IUlVC bee n id entili ed on sevc nl l of th e large r surr ound ing trac ts of land ,
ca lling int o qu es tion th eir suitabi li ty for large sc ale res idential deve lopm ent. Th e Co mprehensive Plan does lI o t
anti c ip l:l tc a sc al e of devc lop mCll l lh at wo uld warrant s uch a park in that area , but in stea d des ig nat es the area as
suit abl e for "mra l res id cmi al" uses.
Such acti on by th e Town is lik e ly to be subj ec t to Sta te parkland "a li enatio n!> pr ocess . Thi s would entail identifyin g
o nc or more sub stitut e park sit es and ge ttin g app rova l from th e Lcg islatur e. The land propo se d for a co mmuni ty
park nort h of Eas t Kin g Road is reco IllIll c nd ed as o ne such si te.
WeSI Hill
There is onl y o ne neighb orh oo d park on Wes t Hill du e to ilS s low er rat c of deve lop me nt. Howeve r. based on th e
populat ion proj ec tion s in th e 1993 Town of Ith aca Co mprehensive Plan, lh ere ma y be suffi cie nt popu lation s 10
ju stify fi ve new neighb orh oo d park s thr oug h the subdi vis ion approva l pro cess . Five prop ose d lo ca tions for th ese
neig hborho od park s a rc lis led be low.
The Biggs Arca: Tomp kin s Co unty own s appr ox imat ely 25 ac res bo un ded by Dat es Dr ive , Indian Creek
Road , Tru man sburg Road , and Dubois Road Ih al arc suitabl e for res id enti a l dev elopment. Dependin g on
th e fu tur e usc of th e Bi ggs Co mpl ex , a park in thi s area co uld be orient ed tow ard serv in g bot h a
res id ential population and a daytime workfor ce co nsti tuency .
Cayuga Cliffs (Behind lh e form er Odd Fe ll ows Home): Thi s 100+ acre sil e has been desig naled for
"suburb an res identi al" and '~co n sc rvationlope n spa ce" uses in th e Co mp rehensive Plan. To pog raphi c
co nSira ints of l he land p rec lude many Iy pes of deve lop ment and are bes l suil ed for a neighb orh ood park
dedicatio n in co mbin ation with moni es-in -li eu-o f land ar range men t. Moreove r, th e eas te rn quart er of lhi s
par ce l co nsi sls of slee p s lopes , hig hl y erod ibl e so ils, and mature wood la nd . Pr eserva l ion of Ih is se nsitiv e
portion shou ld la ke pri ority ove r pa rk acq ui siti on and deve lopm ent. There is an oppo rt uni ty to acqui re"
bi cycle and pedes lr ian co nn eC lo r from Cass Pa rk 10 Ih e hos pila l and Biggs co mpl ex and beyo nd .
TI"Uman s burg and Hopki ns Road s : Th ree trac ts o f land totali ng abo ut 150 ac res in thi s (J rea are
des ig nated fo r "subu rban res id enti al" usc in th e Co mpre hensive Pl an. II any of th ese parce ls arc
develo ped, th e remain ing wes tern fr inge or the area should be des ignated for less int ense "ru ra l
res id enti a l" use. It would a lso be app ro pri ate to c rea le a neighb orh oo d pa rk usin g la nd ded ic ati o ns a nd
moni es in li eu o f Jand thr oug h th e subdi vis ion approval process .
39
C liff Park Brool<: A la rge r Lh a n sLand a rd ne ig hb orh oo d par k is pr opose d 10 be loca ted nea r lilTP ark
Broo k in th e a rea bound ed by Mec kl e nbur g Roa d, Wes L Have n Roa d, Elm Str ee L a nd th e Tow n/C iL y lin e.
Ove rall th ere arc ove r 150 ac res of ICl nd wiLh res ide nti al deve lop ment potenti al in thi s area . It is
desig nated for "s uburb an res id enti al" lI ses i n the Co mprehensive Pl an. T hus, th ere is th e o ppo rtl lnil y fo r
th e Tow n to use a co mbin at ion of land dedi ca ti on and moni es i n li eu of land to deve lop suc h a park . A
pa rk fo r Lhi s a rea ca n a lso be 10ca Led to serve portio ns ofLh e Wes L Hi ll a rea of Lh e city. a nd be deve loped
with fi nancial ass istance fro m the City of Ith aca .
If deve lo pme nt o f a dj acent land s to th e sou th occ ur , thi s flltur e park co uld in co rp orate th e str ea m co rridor
it se l f. II co uld th en serve a dual purpose of prov iding a nei ghbo rh oo d rec rea tiomll reso ur ce ancl
pr ese rvin g a key open space co rri dor a lo ng Clirf Pa rk Broo k.
Elm Street and Coy G l en RoatJ: A mini -p ar k in thi s area co uld serve bo th future res id entia l
deve lopm ent and th e so mhw es l co rn er of th e ci ty . Thi s area is desig nated fo r "suburb an re ide nt h.l l"
deve lopm ent in th e Co mpr ehensive Plan, an d cO l'llai ns a +/-30 ac re and a +/-15 ac re trclct of la nd that
have dev el opm ent pOLe Oli a l. As wiLh oL her a re<1S on Wes L Hill , lh ere is t he opp o rtun ity LO co mb ine
ded ica ti on of lan d with monies i n lieu of lan d.
Meet in g the Need for Close to Home S plice: Co mmunity or AI ·ca Parks.
Chapter Th ree hig hli ghted th e T own 's nee d to deve lop two or morc co mmunity or area park s in th e nca r futu re .
T hese par ks will acco mm odate l arge-sca le rec reati onal ac ti viti es and orga nized l eag uc SPOI1 S sll ch as so ft ba ll ,
baseba ll , and socce r Lh a t allr ac ! t"'lll y pa ni cip a ltL s and have th e pOLeOli a l LO gene rate hig h leve ls of no ise a nd
tr affi c. Thi s pl a n reco mm end s th aL Lh ese com mun iLY pa rks be la rge enough for th ese ae Li viti es, an d p rov id e
adcqmlt c buffe r space betwee n th ose activiti es and Hdjoi ning resi dent ial deve lop ment s.
A min imum sit e area of g to 10 acres is reco mm end ed to pr ov ide adequate protecti on fo r adj ace nt resi denti al areas
fro m SO lll e of lh e ac ti viti es envisioned fo r th ese parks . Space for buffe r areas is also impo rt ant for specific pmk
faci liti es , suc h as pic ni c areas . Part of t il e recrcm ional vH lu c of fa mil y picni cs and la rgc r fun cti ons such as
40
reuni ons, wedd in gs, or oth er group ga th erin gs is the se nse ofpltlcc created by th e park envir on menl. Whi le an
athl eti c co mpe titio n ca n occ ur wi thin th e view of these types of rec rea tion al ga th erin gs wi th oul detra cting fr olll
th em, th e intru sion of out sid e activ iti es and sights, such as adjace nt homes, hi ghways , or co mm ercia l or indu strial
deve lopm ent , cc\n detr ac t signifi ca ntl y fr om th e rec rea ti onal va lue of such eve nt s.
Bec ause of til e types of HCl ivities envi sion ed for these park s Hnd their pot ential impa cts on adjoinin g i:l reaS, h is
rec ommended lhat mo rc th an o ne co mmunhy park be deve loped. Thi s stra tegy will all ow for th e potent ial adve rse
imp ac ts of such fac ilit ies and assoc iat ed act iviti es to be disperse d and minimi ze d. Moreove r. to di ss ip ate th e traffi c
impa cts ge nerated by th ese larger p<:lI'k s, primary park e ntran ces should be locate d on th e maj or roadwa ys within
th e Tmv n.
IlIl e t Valley Park Co mJll ex: The twO park s it es rece ll tly acquired as part o r th e G le nda le Farm and
Sapo ni Mea dows subdi visio ns, cH ch app roxim ately 8 .5 ac res in s ize , hi-we th e potenti al of be in g j o in ed by
a park/gree nway sy stem th ro ug h ,U1 adja ce nt 75-ac re parce l. Allh ough th ey wo uld not co nstitut c o ne large
co nti g uoll s park , th e Inl e t Vll ll ey parks co uld still se rve the ru nctio ns ex pec ted o r a co mmuni ty park. The
stream co rr id o r bc tw ee illhe two sit es fcat ur cs a band of woo ds and bm s h ra ng in g in width fr om 200 10
400 fee l. Togeth er wi th a s mall area o f wood s imm edia tely adja cc nt La th e Gle nda le F:u rn s it e, it co ul d
co nsti tut e a 7+/-acre park and ope n space dedica tio n to th e Tow n. Fro m Hcria l photos it appc ars th at
se veral areas of wetl ands ex ist along th c str ea m. Thi s co rrid or co uld thu s acc omm odate bot h a hi gh
quali ty pedes trian and bi cyc le link betw ee n the two larger parks , and a wi ldli fe and str ea m co rrid or
prote ction zo ne .
T he Sa p o ni Meadows s it e is s uitabl e ror the d eve lopmen t o r rac iliti es ror o rga ni zed s port s . The s it e,
co nsistin g of level to rollin g farm field s, is large enoug h to prov id e a butTer zone be twee n th ose facili ti es
a nd fu ture ho mes, a nd offe rs easy access fro m Seve n M il e Dri ve. T he opportunity ror a play s tru ctu re ,
pi cni c faci l ili es, and oth er types o f re c rea tiona l acti vity also exis ts o n the site .
App rox imate ly 50 pe rce nt or th e Glendal e Fa rm park s it c co ns ists ora relat ive ly leve l fi e ld . Thc rea r
portio n of th e s ite fea tures a tre e and bm sh covered hill wit h a sma ll we il and at it s ba se. Thi s park site is
suit ab le for a co mbin ati on ofn cti vit ics , nmgin g fro m orga ni zed sport s to qui et wa lks thr oug h th e woo ded
po rt i o n. The s ite is easil y accessi bl e off Bos tw ic k Road , and co nt ai ns areas s u itabl e fo r parking .
Wh il e th e po te nti al ror buffering surrounding p ro perti es fr o m t he noi se impac ts of o rga ni zed s ports
ac ti viti es is 11 0 t as large as {It th e Sa poni Mea dows sit e, thi s si te is noneth e less suited fo r sll ch ac ti vi ti es :
t he ope n fi e ld a rca is bou nded o n t he nort h by Bo s twick Road a nd the lih aca Ci ty Sc hoo l D istri ct b us
main te nance facility, on th e wes t by th e fu tu re Firs t Assembly of Go d Churc h, a nd on the so uth by the
remainder of th e park . To the eaS I a th ick hedgerow of matur e lrees bulTers two existin g homes.
4 1
Subdi vis ion and deve lopm e nt of a 75 acre parce l imm ediat ely so uth of th e G le ndal e farm si te could all ow
for th e acquisition or a small strc flmju sl out sid e th e sit e, and a ri ght of way for bicycle and pedes tr ia n
access to Fiv e Mile Dri ve and point s so uth and e>lst.
W es t Hill Park: The a rea of Wes t Hill betwee n Mec kl enbur g Road (NYS Rte . 79) a nd Bu nd y Ro ad offe rs
th e opportunity fo r a co mmunity park to se rve as both a neighbor hood park for {ldja ce nl neighb orhoods in
th e T own and th e City , and as a co mmunily ~wide park . The me;:i co ns ists of two large tra cts of land , both
with hi gh potential for res id ential deve lopm ent in th e co min g deca des , and toge th er co uld co ntribute 3S
mll ch as 20 acres ofwood l <l nd~ rollin g mea dow s and relati ve ly fl at fi eld s for a large , mul ti-use co mmunit y
park . Th e pr opo se d West Hill comm unit y park co uld acco mm odat e a va ri ety of recrea ti onal act iviti es and
faci lit ies for o rga nized spon s, pi cni c, and olh er day uses inc ludin g the atte nd ant parkin g and traffi c
c ir cula tion il tfrastructure , Th e existi ng 9 acres of wo od lan d provides opportuni ty for a va riety of activiti es ,
and is situat ed so that it co uld also se rve as a buffer betw ee n areas of hig h int ens ity uscs and th e ex is tin g
Cit y ne ig hb orh oo d to th e eas t.
Primary access to thi s future park wo uld be from th e nort h-so uth co nn ec tor ro<:l d envisione d to co nn ec t
Bund y Road a nd Mec kl e nbu rg Road . A seco nd access fr om Oakwood Lan e in th e C ity is po ss ib le. The
City owns a str eet ri g ht-of-wa y fr o m Oakwood Lan e wes t to Ih e CitylTown lin e. T hi s ri ght of wa y is
desig nat ed as a futur c street con nec ti on into th e Town of itha ca , i:lnd futur c access to th e Wes t Hill park
site, in th e City 's Wes t Hill Mas ter Plan adopted in 1992 . Th e City in th e Ma ster Pl a n a nti c ip a tes th e
de vel opm ent ofa park in thi s area of the Tow n, and it s use by residents of th e area nonh of Hector S tree t.
An alt erna tiv c sit e for thi s co mmun ity park co uld be at or ncar th e int ersec tion of RIC. 79 a nd Wes t H,lVc n
Ro ad. Thi s sit e is eas il y accessible, ope n, and fre e of majo r envi ro nm ental co nstraint s.
C:.yuga Inlet Preserve. In add iti on to th e above reco mm e nd a ti o ns for parks o n Wes t Hi ll. th e Town
shou ld foll ow throu gh o n th e long -standin g proposa l to acqu ire th e for me r Kni ght Meat Ma rk et property
a nd adja ce nt la nd s in Inl e t Va ll ey for park a nd open spa ce purposes . T hi s lan d ha s bee n id e ntifi ed as part
of a joint Town -C ity park whi c h wou ld straddle th e Cayuga In let.
Ea rli e r park p roposa ls for th e l;lIld (1984 Park & Ope n Space Pl an) in c lu de th e developm ent of ac ti ve
rec rea tio nal fac il ities such as socce r and ba se ball fie lds , S in ce 1984 , howeve r, we tl and s and <l numb e r of
4 2
oth er enviro nm ent al co ns traint s have bee n id cntHi ed on th e sit e. A portion of th e sit e is loc;'l lcd w ith in the
Negund o Wo od s (IT -3 4 ) uniqu e nmural ,lrea , It is reco mm e nd ed that fut ure d eve lopm e lll o flhi s s il e for
publi c park purp oses be lim it ed in nature , and gcmcd towa rd n1C1intainin g it s nat ura l chara cter and
pr eserv in g th e signifi cant eco log ica l attribut es of the sit e,
So uth lIiIJ Park : A third c ommunity park is pro pose d fo r fu lu re deve lop ment o n th e So ulh Hill. T h e
oppo rt u nity ex is ls fo r a park a p proxi ma te ly 10 ac res in s ize north of Eas t Kin g Road, a l a poinl w here
tilree trac ts of la nd tota lin g appro xima le ly 11 5 ac res co me toge lh e r. A co nti g uous park sil e could be
asse mbl ed throu gh th e subdivi sion pa rk and ope n spa ce dedica ti on process , as tho se pM cc ls arc deve lope d.
Th e p roposed So ut h Hi ll pa rk co uld acco mm odale a ba seball /so ftba ll d ia mond, le nni s co uns , c hildre n 'S
play a reas , a nd olhe r d ay use fa cilili es. Th e sit e co nsists ofa co mbination of open fi e lds a nd o ld fi e ld
for es t wi lh s lopes ge ne ra ll y in th e ran ge of approxi ma lel y 8%, T hi s s lope wou ld require so me
ea rthm ov in g 10 eonstm ct a ba sclJa ll fie ld , butlhe cos t o f s uc h g radin g wo uld not be prohibitiv e ,
Alth ough no t loca led directl y o n a maj or road , the s il e is jusl off East Kin g Road , and wou ld be access ibl e
via a network of street s wh ich wo uld be co nstru cted as part of futur e res id enti al deve lopm ent in l hm arc.].
The site can also be con nec ted via bi cycle/pe des tr ia n pat hs to th e Dee r Run and oth er res ide nti al area s to
Ihe cast , a nd Ith a ca Co ll ege a nd th e Co ddin g to n Rd ,/No rth view Rd ./Junipe r Dri ve ne ig h bo rh oo d to th e
no nh ,
Tareyton P:,rk Imllro vcmc nts : In additi on to th e above proposa ls for new co mmunity parks , th e Tow n shoul d
in ves ti gate th e feasibility of upgradin g th e ex istin g playin g fi eld at Ta rcy ton Park to reglil ati on standard s for yo uth -
orie nt ed ba seba ll or so ftball IC<lg ues, The re is e no ug h ro o m on the sil e for a Lilli e League o r Pee Wee League
regulat io n-s ize ba seba ll fi e ld , a nd for a s ma ll (12-I 5 s pa ce) parking lot. G ive n th e sc ale and tim e sc h edu les o f
th ese yout h league eve nts , th e pa rk co uld acco mm odate th em without advc rse traffic or oth er imp ac ts on th e
surroundin g ne ighbor hoo d , By d eve lopin g th e ba llfi e ld at Tareyto n Park , th e Town wou ld be providin g resid e nl s of
th e Nort heast wilh a n easi ly access ib le rec reationa l fa ci lity ,
Current ly th e T own holds only a revocHb le li cc nse for th e sit e. Befo re th e Tow n of Ith aca in vests any fund s in
deve lop in g Ih is pa rk , it s hou l d acqui re e ill ler litle 10 th e und e rl ying la nd fr o m Co rn ell Uni versi ty, o r a pe rm a n e nl
case ment.
4 3
Meeting th e Need fa .. C lose-to-Home S pace: Publi c Act iv e Rec .. e"tional Faci liti es
This Pla n reco mm ends thallh c Town of Itha ca , at a min imum , deve lop th e numb er of ac tive recreat ional fa cili ties ,
s uch as ba ll fie ld s , socce r fi e ld s, te nn is co urt s , a nd ba sketball co urt s, re co mmended by t he NRPA s tand ards o utlin e d
in C hap ter T h ree. Tab le 5 -1 below s hows that th e Town of Ith aca is deficient in providing ac t ive recreati o na l
faci liti es for it s reside nt s unde r NRPA standa rd s. Be ca use of th e number of Tow n yo uth th ;:ll participate in va riou s
yo uth baseba ll and socce r progra ms, thi s Plan reco mm e nd s th a t fi rs t p ri o rity s ho uld be g ive n to co ns tnl c ti o n of
th ose fa ciliti es as soo n l.1 S pra ctica ble .
A lth oug h th e NRPA s ta ndards require o nl y fou r ba s ke tba ll co urt s to se rve thc projecte d Town popU lation in t we nty
years, e ight cou rt s , e q ua ll y d istri buted . would be preferabl e . A n optima l distr ibut io n of co urt s thro ug hout th e Tow n
wou ld be: No rth east (I cou rt ); th e Eastern He ig ht s a rea (I co urt); th e lower portion of Sou th Hi ll (I co urt); uppe r
So uth Hill (I court); Inl e t Va ll ey (I co urt); a nd up to three i n th e futur e res id enti a l areas o n Wes t H ill.
T hese ba ske tb a ll co ur ts s h oul d be loc a ted primari ly wi tll in the ne ig hbo rh oo d park s , w he re th ey wo ul d be more
eas il y ac cess ib le to th e neighbor hood yo ut h who me ex pec ted to be th ei r pri mary users . Tarey ton Park , Eas tern
He ig ht s Park, and th e future Vi nce nzo Iacove ll i park o n So ut h Hill a n d Sapon; Meadows s it e in Inl e t Va ll ey arc
sui tab le sit es for sti c h fllc iliLi es . These parks mc located in ex istin g or future neig hb o rhood s with rel .Hiv e ly hi g h
co nce nt ratio ns of po tenti al use rs . They also have th e space necessary for such f'l ci liti cs .
Tab le 5-1. Rec o mm e nd e d N umb e r o f Towll Active Recreati o nal Faci liti es .
Fa cility Na ti onal Ex istin g Exis tin g Anti cipated
S ta ndard In Need Need
To \"n Year 20 10
Ba sk e tb a ll Co urt s 1/5 ,000 ° 3 4
Ha ndball Courts 1120 ,000 ° ° I
Hockey Rinks 111 00 ,000 0 ° 0
Tenn is Co urt s 112 ,000 0 7-S 9 -10
Ba seball /So ftball Diam o nds (reg ulati o n) 1/5 ,000 0 3 4
Football Field s 1120 ,000 0 0 I
Soccer Fi e ld s 1110 ,000 ° I 2
$wi mlnin g Pool s 1120 ,00 0 0 a I
The po pu larit y of tenn is has g ro w n rapidl y thro ug hout th e co mmuni ty in re ce nt years . Ava i lab le co urts, except fo r
privat e c lu bs , are genera ll y res tri c ted to Co rn e ll Unive r sity , Ith aca Co ll ege . and Ithac a Hi g h Schoo l fa c iliti es a nd
44
th e City's Stewa rt and Cass Park s. Although it may be mOre aura cti ve from th e perspe cti ve of use rs to ha ve te nni s
couns di stribut ed throughout the Town , th e econo mics of co nstru clin g an d maintaining such fa ciliti es dictate s that
Ih ey arc co n so lidm ed in c lu s le rs of Ihrec or four co urts . Doin g so wo uld reduce Ih e pcr co un cos l of co nSinlClion by
approx imat ely 20%. Havin g co urts loca ted sid e by side also g reat ly eases th e main te nan ce of th em, Giv en Lh ese
fa cto rs it is reco mm end ed that tenni s co urt s be co ns tnl cted in th e co mmunity parks .
With th e mi x o f exis tin g <lIld propo se d co mmuni ty and neig hbor hood park s env ision ed above th e Town wo uld have
adequ ate park space to acco mmod ate th e active recreati onal clcti viti es show n in th e above tab le. Th e Tow n should
begin now to deve lop th em, usin g th e ex istin g Town Park sit es , Hnd pl ;.:m for additi ona l fa cility deve lop ment in it s
futur e park si les .
Meeting the Need for Rcgiomd Space
Th e T ow n of Ith aca park , rec reati on, and open spa ce plannin g .111d deve lopm ent effort s should be coo rdinat ed with
Ih ose of Ih e NYS Office of Parks, Re c reation and Hi slori c Pr ese rvati o n (OP RHP). The re a rc a numbe r of way s in
which such coo rdinati on wou ld enh ance th e ability of both part ies to provid e hi gh quality rec rea ti onal
oppo rtuniti es for th eir co nstit uencies, and to prot ec t import ant sce ni c and eco log ica l reso urces . The se in cl ud e:
1. Con tinu ed Town sup port for th e effort s of State Park s to maintain, upgrade where appropria te, and
ex pand loca l state park faciliti es .
2. Coo rd in ate Ih e de vc lopmell! of Ih c Town's bicy cl e and pede slrian pal h network wilh !l,e Siale Bla ck
Diamond Trail proj ect. Thi s includes tyin g th e Town sys tem into the Black Diamond Trail whereve r
fca s ibl e. O n West Hill , th e Town ha s the oppo rtunily a lso 10 provid e, Ihrou g h Ih e s ubdi vis ion park a nd
opcn space dedi cali o n pro cess, an a llernale a li g nm e nt for Ih e Black Diamond Trail t hat would bypa ss th e
ex is tin g pow e r lin es bClween Cass Park in th e c il Y a nd Ca yuga Medica l Cenler. This is an 0P li on !l""
co uld be purs ued by th e Tow n and Siale.
3 . Ass is tin g Ihe NYS OPRHP in ex panding th c amou nl of regiona l space through e ncou ra gin g wh e re
a ppropri ate th e dedi cal io n of park land 10 UlC Sia le inSle;ld of to Ih e Town . Th e re arc seve ral oppo rtuniti cs
for s uc h d edi ca lion s in th e a rea be lw ce n Danby Road a nd Ih e eaS lc rn boundary of Bnuermilk Fa ll s Sial e
Park, a nd a lo ng th e northc rn bound ary o f Rob e n H. T rcm a n Slate Pa rk . In bOlh arcas such ded ica tion s
would en large th e buffer a rcas belw ee n the co res of Ih e parks and s urroll nding res id e nli a l deve lopme nt,
whil c prolec tin g from d evc lo pmc ll! a reas of woodla nd , Sleep slopcs and wellands .
45
In th e area o f Inl e t Va ll ey ea s t o f NYS Rte . 13 th e re may a lso be oppon ulliti es to add a ddi ti o nal la nds to th e ri g ht
o f way of th e futur e Blac k Diam ond T rai l lhroll gh par k and open spHce dedic ation and clu ster subdivision desig n.
Thi s area feat ur es a si gnifi cant amou nt of co nl iguous wetl ands and un deve loped wi ldlif e habit at, and i nco rp ora ti ng
ad di tional land into Ul e (feli! co rr idor woul d both enhance th e quality of th e faci li ty, and prot ec t se nsit iv e
environm ent'" reso urces.
There arc po tenti al fi nancia l rewa rds to the To wn th rough coordi nat ion wit h th e reg i onal stat e park sys tem. T he
Offi ce of Pa rks, Rec reat ion and Histo ri c Prese rv ati on is a maj or co ndu it for grant fund i ng fo r park and ope n space
acqui sition and dcvc loplllCn t proj ec ts. The Town of Ilh el ca, by coo rd in t:l li ng its pl an nin g with that of th e Sta te , C(l n
bet te r posi tio n itse lf i n the compe tit io n fo r S tat e and Fede ra l g ra nt flilld s.
Meetin g th e N ee d fOI-Bicycl e and Ped es trian F aciliti es
Th is Plan e nv isions an add it io nal 2 1 mi les of b icy cl e and pedes trian path constm c ti o n ove r th e nex t two dec ades .
Thi s sys te m, whe n co mpleted, will serve all major res ide nti al areas of th e Tow n and pr ovide bo th rec reati onal and
pr ac ticallranspo rt atio n be nefit s to the co mmuni ty. Moreo ver, th e sys tem will int eg rate all major nodes of human
activity in th e comm un ity : res id enti al area s, co mm ercia l nodes , pla ces of employ ment, and pl aces of rec rea ti on --
ex isti ng and new Town park s --to create an att ra c ti ve , human scale, pedes tria n-o rien ted co mmu nity.
The path netwo rk env isio ned by thi s Pl an is predo min at e ly a radial sys tem. The beg innin g and e nd poi nt s of
pro pose d pat hs ar c gove rned larg e ly by th e centr al loc ati o n of th e c ity wit h its co nce nt ratio n o f e mpl oy ment ,
se rvic es , and bus rout es . Terrain is also an imp onan t fac tor . The nee d to limit pa th g radi e nt s. to th e ex tent
practicabl e, to mee t nati onall y acc ep ted America n Ass ociati on of Stalc Hi g hw(lY clild T ra nspo rt ati o n Officia ls
(AAS HTO) s ta nd ards for bicyc le pat hs, a nd th e access i bility r equ ire me nts of th e A me ri ca n s W it h D is"biliti es Ac t
Access ibi li ty Guid e lin es pr ecl ud es a numb e r of oth e rw ise des irabl e indiv idu al pa th co nn ec ti o ns. For in slHnce a
b ike pa th be twee n So uth Hi ll a nd Eas t Hill built to s uc h s ta nd a rd s is tec hn ica ll y fea s ib le . T he le ngth , cos t of
buil din g s uc h a pat h, and t he da ma ge to sce n ic a nd eco log ical reso ur ces o f th e S i> M il e C reek g orge, re nde r the
conce pt im practi cal.
The bul k of the pa t.h s wo ul d be off-ro a d pass i ng th ro u g h a variety of la nd sca pes in c luding res id ent.ia l
ne ig hbo rh oo ds , op e n fi eld s a nd mead o ws , a nd dee p woo d land se ttin gs. Beca use o f the a nti c ipated dua l rec reat io na l
a n d trans po na ti o n usage of t hese pa th s by th e p ubli c , it is rec o m me nded tha t th e t mi ls be s urfa ced wit h g rave l o r
be paved , depe nd ing o n Ut e terrai n, to a wi dt h o f 8 fee t to 10 fee l. T he volum e of t raffi c th a t th e e>istin g T ow n
rec re<u io n ways recc ive , and the ex pec ted g radi e nts on man y or th ese futur e paths) also sugges t th e need for g ra ve l
o r pave d s u r faces .
46
In additi on, it is re co mm end ed t ha t the standard r ight of wa y wid th fo r such path s be increased fro m t he 15 or 20
fee t curre ntl y required to a minimum of 40 fee t. Th e add iti ona l ri ght of way widt h would a ll ow space for th e type
of cut and fill cCl nhm ov in g that is so metim es req ui re d to co nstnl ct bi cy cl e pa th s loca ll y. It wo uld also provid e 1110re
visual bufferin g betw ee n path s and adja ce nt pri vate pr operty .
In so me area s lh e futur e path s wo uld foll ow ex istin g str ee ts, In th ese areas a co mbinati on o f bicycle lanes on th e
roadway , with a wa lk wa y for pedestrian use on one s id e of th e stre et, wo uld probt.lb ly be mor e appro pri ate than a
se parat c, off-road path , Thc ali gnm ent outlin es are co nce ptu al in natu re and subje cilo va ri atio n as futur e
con diti ons mHy wa rr ant. Th e propo se d ali g nm ent s howcve r ha ve bec n chose n lI sin g five bas ic cri tcr i,l;
a. Ab ility to des ig n and co nstru ct a pa th in th at loca ti on th almeC1S nationall y accep ted dcs ign
standmd s for bicyc le path s and ADA access ibili ty standard s at C:l rea so nable cos t;
b. Po tenti al for intcgratin g into th e des ign sce ni c and natur al resource s to enhan ce th e rec reat iona l
valu e of th e path to use rs;
c Avoi d(l il ce o f im pa cts to se ns itiv e eco lo gica l areas and reso ur ces ;
d. Provi sion of an attr ac ti ve and co nve ni entllon-aut omotivc co nne ction betw ee n cxis ting or futur e
co nce ntrati ons of popu la ti on and park s, co mm ercial and empl oy mcn t ce nt ers; an d
e. The potentjal for ac qui ring the path ri g ht of way throug h th e park and open s pa ce dedi ca t io n
proces s, or thr oug h cluster subdivi sio n.
Th e fo ll ow in g a re prop ose d a s new bi cyc le/pedest rian fa ciliti es to be deve loped by the Town of ltll aca in th e
com in g yea rs:
Sa IlSueker Woods to Co rnell University Path. Thi s 2.7 mil e co mbin a ti on o f on-a nd off-street path s
wou ld co nnect th e La boratory of Ornitho logy o n a psucker Wood s Road wit h Ill e main Cllmpus in th e
vicinity of Fucrtes Obse lva tory . This rout e would uti li ze co nn cc ti ons betwee n str ee ts withinlhe Nort hcas t
neighbor hood , Blu e Gra ss Lane , and a rig ht -o r-way across Uni vers ity land throu g h or immed iate ly so uth
of th e Has broll ck Apa rtm ent s to Plea sant Grove Road ,
Exte nsio ns to Eas t Itha ca RCCfc~Hion Wuy. The 0,25 mil e scc ti on of Maple Ave nu e betwee n th e tw o
segment s of th e Ea st Ith aca Recreat ion Wa y should be recon structed to include , at a minimum , bi cy cle
la nes on eac h si de of th e roa d, a nd a parall el six-foo t wa lk way . If feasi ble, a wholly se parat e 8 or 10 foot
wid e separa te bicycle path is reco mm e nd ed . The T ow n of Dryd en ha s rece ntl y bcen awarded a g rant for
an exte nsio n of th e Eas t Itha ca Rec reat ion Way eas tw ard toward Etna and Fr eev ill e. Th c Town of [th aca
should work coo pcnllivcl y wilh lh e Town of Dryden to bri ng such an ex te nsion to fm iti on.
47
William. & Hannah Pew Bikeway. Thi s would be a co mbinati on ofon~ and off-road path s that would
co nn ec t th e so uth ern terminu s orlhe Eas t Itha ca Rec re<1tion \V ay to Easte rn Height s Park via Tud or Park .
It s tot a l length wo uld be approximately 1.7 mil es . It is propose d th at Ho nn css La ne be co ns tru c ted t o
acco mm odate bi cyc le lanes and a wa lkway along it s entire length , An off-road path 'wo uld co nn ec t th e
inte rsec t ion o f Ho nn ess La ne and Pine Tree Ro a d with Tudor Park . T he route co uld th e n foll ow Tudor
Roa d to Eastern He ig ht s Park, with a bra n ch v ia th e fmur e Edwi n Street to Park Lan e and S late lvi ll e
Ro ad .
A spur co nsisting o f (l wa lkway and bi cyc le lanes is envis ioned ex tend ing northward to th e int ersec ti o n of
Snyder Hill Road a nd Pine Tree Roa d, and th e ex is tin g walkway a long Pine Tree Road north to E lli s
Holl ow Road . Ano th er spur across th e grou nd s of Trinity Luth eran Chur ch from Honness Lan e to
Sunn yv icw La ne wou ld provid e access from th e interior of th e Gra nd view neighborh ood to th e path (total
le ng th 1.9 mi .).
Upper So ulh Hill Netwo ,k T hi s wo uld be a ne twork of path co "nee tin g th e v ici n ity o f C h ase Lane a nd
Eas t King Road , th e Deer RU II neighb or hood, Troy Park , th e proposed So uth Hill co mmunity park and
Danby Road , th e eas le rn e nd of t he So uth Hi ll Recreati o n Wa y, th e Ith aca College c<l mpu s, a nd th e
int e rsec tion o f Coddingto n Roa d a nd Hud so n S treet. T he to tal le ng th of thi s network wo ul d be
f1ppro xi m£ltc ly 5.3 mil es . The main path wou ld pa ss th ro ug h (h e edge of the wood lands o n th e nort heas t
fl ank of So uth Hill and provid e all attra c ti ve and sce ni c environme nt for pedes trian s and bi cyc lis ts.
A spur caslwm d ac ross Troy Road would co nn ect with th e Sout h Hill Recrea ti o n Wa y. and crea te a 4 .5
mil e loop trail. The s pur to t he pro posed Soulh Hill park could extend we stward a long King Road to
Bu tt e rmilk Fa ll s State Park.
Aurora Slrccllo Upper Bul1ermi l k Falls Slale Park. Down h ill of a nd ro ug hl y parall el to Da nby Road
(NYS Rt e . 9GB), thi s path would co nn ec t t he C ity si dewa lk on Aurora Stree t wi th th e int e rsecti on of West
King and Sto ne Q uarry Road . At that po int users wou ld have th e optio n o f go in g west 1/3 mil e to th e
entrance o f Uppe r Buttermilk Fall s State Park , or cast to Danby Road . In betwee n, th e path wou ld prov id e
a sce ni c o ff-road bi cy clin g, wa lkin g. or jogg in g ex perien ce as it pa sse d thr oug h wood s and ope n mead ows
with sweep in g v ie ws of th e c ity , Wes t Hill , a nd Cayuga Lake. The tot a l proj ected le n g th of thi s path is
approx im ate ly 2 mil es .
Althoug h envisio ned HS primaril y a rec rcmional fa cility. thi s path wou ld also prov id e (\lt er nat ivc pedes tr ia n and
b icyc le a ccess to th e propose d So uth Hill Re ta il Comp lex, Axioh m , In c ., th e new [tha care Se ni or Li v in g Ce nte r,
4~
and a numb er of res id e nti a l a reas a lo ng th e wes t side of Danb y Road , II wo uld al so be co nn ec ted to th e network of
pa lh s o n th e upp er porti ons of Sou lh Hill via Eas t Ki ng Road .
Sou th Hill Rcel'c;,tion Way Extension to Lower Butte,'mill< F:alls State Park T hi s tr a il , fir st pr opose d
as part of th e 19 75 Park and Op en Space Plan , wou ld co nlinu e Ih e So uth Hill Rec reatio n Wa y wes t along
Hi ll view Place in th e city and then along th e aband o ned railr oa d grade so utJnvard pa s t th e Emerso n/Mo rse
Pow er indu stri a l co mpl ex to BUllermi lk Fa ll s Slate Park . It s lotallengl h will be app rox im ate ly 2 miles .
Per a 1983 agree ment, it is to be (1 joint pr ojec t by th e Tow n and Ci ty.
Thi s pat h wo uld provide a co nve ni ent bi cyc le llnd pedes tri an link age between res id enti al neig hb or hoods of SO llth
Hill , Bu ll e rmilk Fa ll s Stat e Park , a nd via Ih e pr opose d Bla ck Diam ond Trai l (O PRHP), Rober t Trema n Stal e Pa rk
a nd other Town par ks in Inl et Va ll ey, Cass Park , Wes t Hill , and Ta ug ha nno ek Fall s State Park and beyo nd .
Inl et Valley Pat h. Thi s path is pr opo se d 10 co nn ec t th e Black Diam ond T rail wi th th e futur e Tut elo a nd
Sa pon i pa rk s il es, an d th e <lllti cipat cd futur e re sid enti al deve lop men t i n th e I nl et Valley arca . It wou ld
co nn ect Tute le park sit e wit h th e Black Di amond Trail Viii Bos twic k Roa d and Five Mi le Driv e. and a
narrow strip o rl an d ex tendin g rro m Fiv e Mil e Drive to th e future Blac k Di amo nd trail alrea dy ow ned by
the Tow n. T he proj ec ted le ngth of thi s pat h is approxi mately 1.6 mi les .
Ullp er West Hill Path . Th is path is prop ose d to exte nd fr olll Elm Str ee t to th e vici nit y of Hayts an d
Hopkin s Road s. Pan. o r it wou ld par all el a rutur e co nn ec to r road from Meckle nbur g Roa d no rth to
Trum a nsburg Road (NYS Rte. 96). Thi s pm h is primaril y int e nd ed to co nne c t th e futur e resi denl ia l
neighb orh oo ds o f We st Hi ll with th e propo se d futu re parks in th e area . Its lota l proje cted length is
app roxima te ly 2.6 mil es . By te rmin ating at Hayts Roa d thi s pat h wou ld also pro v id e a co nveni e nt olT-road
access to a low-vo lum e n1ral hi g hwa y and point s wes t and north .
A 0 .5 mil e spur path eas tward 10 th e Cay uga Med ica l Ce nt e r would pro vid e a co nn ec ti on 10 th e pr opo se d
Woolf Lan e to Cass Park path .
Woo lf Lane to Cass Park Path. Thi s pat h would co nn ec tlhe res id e nti al neig hb or hoo ds in the far
nor th wes te rn ponion of th e Town wil h Cass Park 'Ind th e Black Diamond Tra il in th e ci ty. In add ili on it
wo uld provide bi cy cl e a nd pedes tri an access to Cayuga Medi ca l Ce nl er. It s proj ec ted le ngth is
appr ox ima te ly 3.1 mil es . T his palh co uld be bui lt as pa ll of a ny flltur e seco nd ary access betwee n th e city
and th e hos pit al. Given th e terrai n and so il co nditi ons alo ng th e portio n ofits rout e fr om th e c ity to th c
hospi tal, th e Town should stri ve to ac qu i re th e righ t of way as part ora large r ope n sp<lce preserva tion
co nce pt th at wo uld pr otec t th e eco log icall y and visuall y imp ort ant slee p s lopes and matur e woo dhmd
a lo ng th e lower nank of Wes t Hil l.
49
The sec ti o ns o f th e sys te m al o ng Dubo is a nd Indi a n Cree k Roa d s a rc e nvis io ned as a co mbin a ti o n o f bi cyc le la nes
in th e roa dw<\ys and an adj ace nt wal kway. Shoul d th e Cou nty·ow ned lan d on th e so uth sid e of Indian Creck Roa d
be lw ee n Dub o is and Dates Dri ve be deve loped, thi s path way co uld be int eg ra ted into th e des ig n of th a t
develo pm e nl. T hi s ro ut e co uld a lso be a n a lt e rn a t ive a li g nm ent fo r th e Bl ac k Di a mo nd Trai l, hea din g no nhwa rd to
th c fo rm c r Le hi g h Va ll ey ra il roa d grade, to avo id th e ex is tin g NYSEG hi g h vo lt age power line be twee n th e c ity
a nd th e hosp it a l, if th e S tate des ir ed to purs ue th a t opti o n.
It sh oul d be no ted that th e li st o f pa th s recOlTIlu e nd ed i n t his Plan is no t a ll inclus ive . T he b icy cl e a nd pedes t ria n
pa th s bein g propose d are see n as be in g prim ar il y recrea tio nal filC iliLi cs. Th ey wi ll , howeve r, also se rv e an
im po rt ant fun cti on as tr ansporta tio n linkages within an overa ll bi cyc le and pe des tri an co mp onent o f th e T own 's
tr ans port ati on sys tem.
Meeting the Need for Public Lake Access anti Water-Ori e nted Recreation
T he T OW il should see k enh ance d publi c ,1CCCSS and recrea ti onal opp ortunit ies i n th e Cayuga Lake Water fr ont. Th e
o nl y re mai ni ng pa rce l w ith suc h o ppo nullities is the East Sho re Sailing p ro pe rty o n East S ho re Drive . T hi s pa rce l
co nsis ts of a pp rox imat e ly 1,000 fcc t of la ke fro nt pro per ty, a nd represent s th e las t sec ti o n o f und eve lo pe d s ho re lin e
on Cay uga lake within th e T ow n of Itha ca. In ad diti on to the +/-2 ac res of beac hfro lll land , th e property in cl ud es
+/·1 2 acres o f la nd o n the up hill si de of Eas t Sh ore D ri ve.
Curre nll y, tlli s pro pe rty is be in g s tudi ed as th e pro posed sit e o f th e Co rn e ll Lake So urce Coo ling Proj ec l. The ma in
hea t exc ha nge fac ility w ill be loca ted o n th e o n th e uph i ll side of Eas t S hore D ri ve .
Ac qui si ti on of th e pro perty wo uld guar antee access to the lake for all To wn res ide nt s for ge nera ti ons to co me.
Alth o ug h sw immin g may no t be poss ibl e du e to lake wat e r quality , t he s it e has th e po te nt ial fo r a hi g h qu a lity
water-o ri en ted cO lnnlUnit y park, fea turin g pic ni cki ng, boatin g, fi sh in g, and oth er wate rsid e (l ctiv iti es . In addition
to th e lakefro nt a rea , th e site fea lU res pote nti a ll y sig nifi ca nt ecol og ica l a nd o pe n space reso urces o n th e u phill sid e
of Eas t S hore Dri ve . It is pa n o f th e Re nw ic k S lo pe Un iqu e Natura l A rea desig nate d by T o mpkins Co unty, a nd is
know n to co ntain ,I num be r of rar e pl ant spec ies . T his area (1 150 boas ts seve ral hig h qu ali ty views of Cay uga Lake
a nd Wes t Hill. Alth oug h not s uit ed for inte nsive deve lo pm e nt , th e site no neth e less co uld p rov id e an attrac ti ve a nel
enjoyab le loc ati on for pass ive rec rea ti onal ac ti viti es ori ent ed tow ard th e natu ra l environm ent. Suc h uses would be
co mpat ib le wi th th e Lak e So urce Coo ling Projec t i f co ns trnc ted by Co rn e ll U nive rs ity .
50
3. ACTING NOW FOR THE FUTURE
Th e reco lllm endation s outlin ed above ar e ambiti ous but ca n be rC <:lii zc d ove r th e nex t 15 to 20 yea rs. T he Sli ccess of
thi s Plan will be dete rmin ed prim a ril y by th e re sid e nt s of th e Tow n of Itha ca. a nd th eir e lec ted and appo inted
board s a nd co mmitte es . Key to successful imp le me ntati on will be th e attitud e with whi c h th e task is a pproac hed .
The step reco mmend ed in thi s Plan, espec iall y th ose req uirin g outl nys of pub lic moni es , rHU S! be see n as a ll
in ves tm ent in th e qualit y of life for th e Town res id ent s of th e fulu re --grand chi ldren and grea t-grandchild re n of
loday 's resi dent s, By takin g th e ac ti ons reco lllm end ed by thi s Pla n now , l his ge neration ca n ensure a so lic!
found ati on for a par k and ope n spa ce netw ork that will co ntinue to serve res ide nt s a hun dred yea rs from now .
While th e reco mm endati ons oflh is Plan are amb itious, th ey are in no way excessive in sca le or , mor e imp ortantl y.
cos t. Th e network of park s, th eir reco mm end ed sizes , an d th e sc al e of th e park appurtenan ces propo sed as part of
Liti s Plan arc HII ba se d on accep ted natio nal guid elin es for th e pro vis ion of publi c park an d ope n spa ce . Th e bicyc le
and pedes lrilll1 path s proposed will be rec rea tio nal fac iliti es and morc. T heir pr oposed ali gnm ent s wi ll all ow th em
to se rv e doub le du ty as tran sportal ion as we ll as re cre ationa l faciliti es . In doin g so th ey will help limit th e ne ed to
in ves t in cos tl y and envi ronm en tall y di sruptiv e ex pan sion s of th e IOCH I road sys tem to acco mm oda te in crease d
Hulom ob il e tr affi c.
So me of th e too ls re quired to imp lement thi s PI;!11 ar e alrea dy in place . Th ey includ e th e ex istin g park an d ope n
spa ce dedi cati on and clu ster subdi vision mec hanisms in th e T ow n of Ith ac a Sub di visi on Reg ul ations. These will be
s upp leme nt ed by rece nt ly enac ted loca l leg isla ti on whi ch wi ll es tab li sh a s tru cture for co ll ect in g fees in li eu of lan d
in subdi visions. Thi s option all ows th e Tow n to crea te one or 111 0re fund s dedi ca ted to paying for capita l
impr oveme nt s ill Town parks . Oth er too l s, such as prop ose d zo nin g dis tri cts and a pur chase of deve lopm ent ri ght s
(PDR) pr ogra m, can a nd should be es tabli shed by the Town Bo a rd .
Many of th e acc ompa nyin g reco mm end ati ons, such as a co mmiun cnl to mee tin g th e req uirement s of th e
A meri ca ns With D isa bi liti es Ac~ or a poli cy on nam ing Tow n park sl arc operati onal chan ges whic h also Clln be
imp lement ed in a relative ly short tim e peri od.
Fin all y, th ere mu st be a lo ng-term co mmitm e nt by th e TOlYn of Ith aca to fund th e ac tion s out l in ed in thi s Plan .
Without such a co mm itm ent, th e in ves tm ent s reco mm end ed herei n c(ln not hap pe n.
CAAPTER6
INVENTORY: NATURAL AND OPEN SPACE RE OUR CES
Introduction
The Town's ri ch gltlcifl l his tory has endowed it wit h man y uniqu e phys ical, eco logica l, and sce ni c natura l
reso ur ces . Th e Town o f Itha ca, nes Ued amon g Ih e hill s surroundin g Ih e Ci ty of Ilha ca and Ih e so ulh c rn lip of
Cayuga Lak e, l11 ainlains a nleal allnosp hc re despile il s pro xi l11ilY 10 Ih e ci ly. Agricu liural fi eld s, floodpl a in s,
wet land s , woodJ:.:lnd s, and sce ni c va ll ey views acc visib le from many pan s of th e Town . Man y of the s tee pes t
hill si des (10% or grcCl tcr) afC woo ded and fr equentl y c ut by mggcd stream s, wa tc rfclll s, and gorges . Th ese sce ni c
resourc es provid e imp ortant habitat s for se nsitive plant and anim al species, and se rve as important resea rch (wd
educational reso urces for th e co mmunity.
5 1
Th e "CHural sce ni c bea uty of the Ith aca area supp ons a sub stHntial touri s m eco no my and pro vide s a hea lth y quality
of li fe fo r Ih e Town's rcs id enl S. All lold , Ih ere are over 5,500 acre s of hi gh qualil Y na tural open spa ce within th e
Tow n in pub li c and priv ll ie owners hip .(Map 6-1)
To avoid th e adverse e nviro nm ent al imp acts of growth , th e Town of ILha ca mu st prot ec t it s natural reso ur ccs . As
th e Town deve lops, th e identifi ca tion and preservat ion of c riti ca l pl ant and anim al habilills and mi g ratio n co rrid ors
betw ee n th ese habit ats, will be co me in crcHsi ngly importHnt. Such "biol og ic al co rrid o rs" wi ll help pr eve nt the
fragm e ntati on ofw ilcllife and plant habitat s into areas that iJrc too small to sustain certai n species . Else wh ere in the
United Stat es . populati on growt h. urban growth , and new hi g hw ays have di s nJp lcd wi ldlife mi gra ti on pa tt ern s and
ha s led to th e redu c tion ofwildtife popu lation s. Lo ca ll y, we ha ve los t man y spec ies of birds , sa lamand e rs ,
butterflie s, and th e o ll ce pr cv al enl bo g tuni c becau se of habitat loss and fra g me nt at ion.
Uni(IUC Geo lo gica l and Env ironmentall y Se nsitive Resources
Many areas o f scc ni c beauty ha ve been minim all y de ve loped for publi c rec rea tion al usc a nd natur e stud y. The se
ar cas in c lud e Li ck Brook and th e surroundin g wood s of th e Fin ge r Lak es Lillld Tru st's Swee dl er Pre serve; th e
Corne ll PI ,lIlt ati ons Path and natural ar eas both On and o ff th e Univer s ity's main ca mpu s; th e Co rn ell Univ ersity
LaboralOry of Ornitholo gy at Saps ucker Wood s ; a nd Th e Nat ur e Co nse rvan cy 's Eld ridge Pr eserve . These areas a rc
av ailab le for a va ri e ty o f informal rec reational pursuit s sli c h as wa lkin g, hikin g, c ro ss ·country skiin g , birdin g. and
wildlire watc hin g . In th e loca l s tat e park s ac tiviti es suc h as pi c ni c king, swimmin g , a nd c ampin g arc all owcd in
de signale d are"s .
An imp o rl anl uniqu e spa ce wilhin the Town is Ih e Cily of \ih aca 's Mulholland Wildfl owe r Prese rve and City
Watersh ed area loca ted along Six Mil e Cree k. Man y rar c and imp orta nt phlilt spec ies ca n be found alon g th e
mYN Of ITHACA
1997 PARK
RECREATION So
OPEN SPACE PLAN
IJ(CDtKR 1991
MAP 6 -1
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53
Preserve's mea nd erin g pa ths. T he Six Mile Cree k wa tershed within th e Tow n e nco mp asses 620 acres a nd ex te nd s
fr o m Gil es Str eet in th e city to t he vi cinit y of Ge nn an Cro ss Road in th e Town of Dryd e n. Th ere are seve ra l mil es
of wa lk in g path s, includin g co nn ec tions with th e So uth Hill Recremion Wa y, whi ch nlll s a lo ng th e upp er
so uth west slope of th e Six Mil e Cree k betw ee n th e city a nd Bu rn s Road . As Six Mile Creek nows th ro ugh th e tow n
toward Cayuga Lak e, the wat er is im po unded in two Ci ty reservoirs and now s th ro ugh many riffles and watcrfclll s.
Thi s area se rv es as an important sce nic , rec rcClti ?nal , and eco log ica l reso urce for th e enLir e re gion.
The Corne ll Uni ve rsit y Plantat ions maintain s th e Uni vers ity arb oretulll and bo tan.ica l gard ens, and mana ges 2,900
ac res of natur al areas on ca mpu s an d throu g hout Tompkin s Co unt y. Publi c I nl il s such as the Plcm tali o n Path and
th e Ca yu ga Tra il offer access to so me of th ese natur al areas . Othe r prop ertie s, with res tri cted pub li c access , afC
held for natura l his tory edu cation and rescMc h. These pr ope rti es preserve qua lity exa mpl es of naliv e vegc taL ion,
rare plant species , and thr ea te ned plant co mmuni tics . Coy Glen, Clau se n Swamp , CHscadi ll a Cree.k , Newma n
Wo ods, and McGowa n Woo ds me a few of th e we ll -kno\.vn natura l areas wit hin th e Town of It haca . Th ese area s
pro vid e important habit at for plant s and anima ls and arc co mpon ent s of biol og ica l cor ridors .
To mp kins County Designated Uniqu e Na tur al Areas
Th e Tompkin s Co unty Environmenta l Ma nageme nt Co un cil has des ig nated 18 1 Uniqu e Natura l Areas (UNAs)
throu g hout the co unty warr antin g pr csclVa tion in th e ir natura l stat e. These areas are importa nt for preserv in g
e ndan gere d and ra re s pec ies of fl ora and fallJlCl, exce ll ent exa mp les of ecosys tems or bi oti c com muniti es , uniqu e
geo logic featur es, and out standin g sce ni c bea ut y. Th e revised 1990 Tompk ins Co unty Environm e ntal Mana ge ment
Co un cil Uniqu e Natu ra l Ar ea report des ig nat ed Iwemy-seve n UNAs locate d who ll y or part ly in th e T own of Itha ca
co mpri s in g 2,300 ac res of land and wat er (Map 6-2).
urf:lce Waters: Lakes, Ponds, anti Stre ams
Approx im ate ly 3% of th e Tow n of Itha ca is covere d by lakes and pond s . Cayuga Lake, whi ch cove rs ove r 650 acres
wi thin th e town , is an important natura l, rec reati ona l, and visual reso urce . The lake is a habitat ror fi sh, reptil es ,
and mi gratin g I,va te rfow l. Thr oug h th e So uthe rn Cayuga Lak e Inlermuni cipa l Wa ter Co mmi ss ion, it also serve s as
th e wa ter supp ly for a large arc ,) orth e Tow n, as we ll porti o ns o f Dryd en, Lan sin g, and the vi ll ages of Cayuga
Heights a nd Lansing .
The town 's s ix larges t strea ms are Fall Cree k, Casca d ill a Cre ek, Six Mil e Cree k, Cayuga Inl et, BUlIermi lk Cree k,
a nd Enfi eld Creek . Oth er str eam s of note arc Pleas ant Grove Br oo k, Holl y Cree k, Li ck Brook , Coy Gle n Cree k,
Williams B rook , and Indian Creek. The NYS DEC has c lassified surface wa ters in th e State accordi ng to th e
qua lit y of the wa ter a nd it s approp ri ate use . T he classified str ea ms an d tribu tar ies in th e Tow n of Itl,"ca pr ov id e
imp ortant aquali c habitats and rec reati o nal reso ur ce s, and arc c riti ca l to th e hCH lth y fun cti o nin g or th e
TOIJN Of I Tlf ACA
1997 PARK
RECREATION
OPEN SPACE
DECEMB ER 1997
S.
PLAN
MAP 6-2
CO UNTY DESIGNATED
UNIQUE NA TUR AL
AREAS
KEY
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e nvironm ent . Beyo nd c la ss ifica ti o n, th e DE C has also ass igned a pro tec ti on status to all of th e Tow n's lakes an d
Olll e of it s str""ms. PleHs"n t Grove Brook, Fa ll Creek , Six Mil e Creek , Holl y Creek , Butt ermi lk Cree k, Cay uga
Inl ct, and Enfi eld Crec k me cla ss ifi ed HS "prote cted" by th e DEC.
55
The Tow n of Ith aca's glacia llopog raph y in clud es sce nic and spectac ular glens, go rges , and rav in es . T he majo r
form atio ns (i n clockwi se order fro m th e nonh cast) ar e Lh e low er reac hes of PI Ci:1Sa nt Grove Creek in Cay uga
He ig ht s, Fall Cree k Gorge , Casca di ll a Go rge , Six Mi le Creek Gorge , th e lower rca ches of Holl y Creek , Butter milk
Cree k Gorge, an d Lick Broo k Gorge ,md it s two adja ce nt glcns, Enfie ld Go rge , Coy Glen, a nd William s Glen.
These pi ctures qu e ye t fr ag il e reso urces pro vid e vitall y imp onant habitats fo r plants and an im al li fe .
Wellands allli Floo dplain s
Unl il rece ntl y, many we tl ands and noodp lain s were drain ed for agric ultu re or fi ll ed for deve lopm ent. The res ult
has bee n th e elim inati on of large areas of we tl ands Hnd noo dp lai ns th ro ughotlllhe co untry . Howeve r, th e vi lal
environmc nl al importan ce of we tland s and nood pl ai ns is now wide ly kn ow n and (lppr ecimcd . So me of th e many
fun cli ons and va lu es of our 10Cili fr es hwalc r we tl an ds and noo dp lain s arc:
•
•
•
•
•
Slowi ng and abso rbi ng eXCeSs watcr duri ng storms, th ereby red ucin g str ea m leve ls dow nstrea m and
con I ro ll i ng noo d wa le r s ~
Maintaining water qu ali ty by fill eri ng a liI certai n po llut ant befo re Ih e wa ter ent ers str ea ms, lakes , or
aquife rs;
Abat in g erosio n, es pec iall y along coas tal areas and lake and strea m shores by abso rbi ng and di ss ip atin g
th e energy of waves ~
Provi din g wildlife habit at, inclu din g res tin g and bre edin g places for mi gratory wHte rfow ! slI ch as geese
and du cks; and spawnin g ground s for ce nain fis h and shell fis h spec ies , in clu d.in g co mm ercia lly va lu able
ones ;
Crea tin g rec rc(ui onal opp ortuniti cs inc ludin g fi shin g, huntin g, and bird watchi ng.
T here arc ove r 450 acres orwetl an ds in th e T ow n of It ha ca fOllnd in we t mea dows , woo dl ands , ,md (l Iang st rea ms.
Th e ar",1S ",ound Sap sucker Wood s, In let Valley , and th e cres t of So uth Hill have the larges t co nce ntrati on of
we tl ands . There a rc also wetl and s sca tt ered ac ross Wes t Hjll in cludin g a large wet land locate d nca r She ffi eld Roa d
and lmdell Road . Potentia l impa cts to we tl ands a re regu lated by th e federa l Envi ronm ental Protection Age ncy,
U.S. Arm y Co rp s of Engin ee rs, a nd th e NY DE C. Howeve r, thi s gove rnm e nt al reg ul ati on does not co nstitu te fu ll
pr otection.
56
Th e re ar c seve ral notabl e fl oo d plain s in the Tow n of fthaca th at arc inundat ed durin g seaso nal slr c(lm ove rn ows
and period s of high precipi tatio n. It is espec iall y imp ort.:11l 11hat stream channel and adja ce nt noo dplain areas are
kepI rree of encroa ch me n I 10 ca rry lh e IOO -yea r noo d wilh oul sub slamial in crease in nood heig h IS.
T he Inl el Va ll ey area ha s a wide noo d pl ai n and is subj ec llo rr equ ent no oding . lnl el Va ll ey's wellands he lp a bso rb
lh ese flood wal e rs alth ough lhere is so me deve lopm em a long Ro ul es 13 an d 13A.
Du e to th ei r gorge topogr aphi es , Fall Creek , C~,sca dil l a Cree k, and Six Mile Cree k hav e vel)' narrow noo d plain s,
excep l ro r lh e lower sec lions or Foresl Home. Wilhin l he low n, Cayuga lake ha s a narr ow noo dp la in alon g lh e
shor e . The ci:lSlern sho re is nan cr and mo re fl oo d pron e th nn th e wes tern shore . Th e re is a sig nifi ca nt leve l of
deve lopm enl a long bOI h s ho res .
Woo dl a nd s and Mca d ows
The Tow n of Ith aca is mode rat e ly wood ed with signifi cCl ll l s ia nd s on th e hill s ides an d go rges. These woods are
ly pi ca ll y seco nd ary g rowth On a ba ndon ed ra rml a nd on slee p s lopes . T here a rc approx im alely 5,000 ac res of
woodlands and about 3,100 ac res ofbmsh or mea dow land . Mo st of th e Town's meadows , deve loped fro m rece nt ly
aba nd oned farm land, arc lo ca ted on So uth Clnd We st Hill . and in Inl et Va ll ey .
Th e wood land s an d mead ows in th e To wn of Ith aca prov id e importa nt habitat for birds , gll Ol C all in,a ls, and
reptil es . Wild turk ey ca n be found thr oughout th e Tow n in rural areas . Wat erfow l find refu ge in th e Sou th Hill
Swamp area and dee r winter on Wes t Hil l slopes abov e Cayuga Lak e. Saps ucker Woods has been ide ntified as a
major bird habi tat whil e oth er bird hab itat s ca n be found alo ng Cascad ill a Creek , Buttermi lk Creck , and Cilyuga
Inl el. Replile s can be round in th e weLiand areas in Inl el Valley, Clause n Swamp, Sllpsueke r Woods , and <lIlh e
Co rnell Univ e rsily Go lr Cou rse ponds . Coyo les have bee n observed in lh e Northeasl suburb s, Six Mil e Creek , ll nd
Coy Gle n. Fall Cree k Gorge, Six Mi le Cree k Go rge , SOUl h Hi ll Swamp, Butl ermi lk Cree k Go rge, lnl el Va ll ey ,
Enfi eld Gorge , and Coy Glen also have bee n id enlifl ed as areas wilh uniqu e nora .
Agric ultur al Resources
Appro ximal ely 3,440 Hc res of lan d withi n lh e Tow n o r Ilh aca are bein g aClively use d ror crop land , paslUrcs ,
vege table crop s, or chards , and vin ey ard s. Anot her 1,4 80 acres of agr icultural land is in ac tiv e and cou ld be return ed
10 p rodu cli on wilh minill1<l1 effo rt . Town rarm ers a lso own a ppro ximill ely 1,05 0 acres or mat ure woo dl olS (with
lr ees .1 leas l rort y years old). These woode d ll reas , a llh ough nol co nsid e red "ag ri cullural la nd," are a po lenti a l
i nco me so ur ce for Town farm ers, Hnd are lh erefor e in clud ed in th e invenlory ofagri cuituralland, A lt oge th er, there
is a total of 5,970 ac res of land in agric ultural use in th e To wl'!,
57
Ag ri culLU re i n the Tow n has decl in ed si nce th e end of Wor ld War II. Howeve r, agric ult ure is still th e pred om in ant
la nd usc On West Hi ll. A sub stanti a l amo unt o f ag ri cuitur a lland also ex ists 0 11 So uth Hill so uth of Buttermi lk Falls
State Pa rk, and in Inl et Va ll ey . Po rti on s o f East Hill arc a lso use d for agri cul ture a nd agr icultural research by
Co rne ll Un ive rs ity .
Farm ers and thei r farm la nd make a majo r co ntributi on to th e we ll -bein g of all Tow n res id e nt s. By ma int ai ni ng
alm os t 6,O()() acres o f ac ti ve an d ina cti ve fa rml and Hnd wo odlots, farm ers prov id e resi dent s wi th app roximat ely
36% of th e ope n s pace within th e Tow n. The nlf()1 chan:l ctcr enjoyed by Tow n res id e nt s and th e loc al tour ist
indu st ry is pr ov id ed la rge ly by loca l far mc rs and th eir longs tandin g traditi on of stewards hip of th e la nd an d its
reso ur ces.
In 1992 , th e Tow n of Ith ac a Co nse rvati on Boa rd Cldop ted poli cy reco mm en dation s ,and i mp lementati on measures
suppo rtin g th e preserva ti on of ag ri c ultura l land in th e Tm·\,n . T hese reco mm endati ons arc di sc usse d in detail in its
1992 report Plannin g/or Agric ulture in the Town 0/ /Ihaeo . T hese policies arc int end ed to ensure the long term
pr eserva tio n of th e T o\vn's agric ultllralland reso ur ces and enhance th e economi c viab il ity of it s fa rm s.
53
CHAPTER 7
ANALYSIS: NATURAL AND OP E N SPA CE RE SO U RC ES
Unili ll C S I):<ee : Open S pace Assets
The syste m of p rotec ted na tural a reas in th e Town of Itha ca nee ds to be expanded and bett e r pro tec ted from
deve lop ment on adjacc nl 1clJld s. Th ere me many eco logica ll y se nsi tive areas in th e Town th at curr entl y hav e no
protec tio n fr om inappropriate leve ls of deve lopm en t. Thcse inc lude severa l Un iqu e Na tural Areas identifie d by
Tompk in s Co unty th al curren tl y h ~I VC no protective statu s; areas of eco lo g ica l sig nifi ca nce adj ace nt to th e Cornell
Plant ati o ns' Coy Glen and Clause n (So uth Hill ) Swamp natura l areas ; and severa l areas adjace nt to th e Cit)'
Watershed in th e Six Mile Creek Va ll ey. Olh er arcas lh at warra nt protec tion in clud e Sleep s lope nrc::ls (s lopes in
excess of25%) on We st Hill and Sou th Hill , and to a lesser exte nt on Eas t Hill , and major strea m co rridor s wit hin
th e Tow n .
Other Open S pace Assets
Because or pa st la nd use and deve lopm ent trends in th e Town of Ith aciJ , over two -th irds of tile Town's land area
lUIS remain ed nlr(l l in char'lcter . These areas arc marked by very low density residentia l deve lopme nt , primar il y
co ns istin g of fronta ge lots on th e few exis tin g roads and highways . Th is is espec iall y tme of the West Hill port ion
of th e Tow n, where th e re are abo ut 4,100 ac res of ac tive and i nactive agricult ura l land and wood land. Almost all of
thi s open spa ce is loca ted wiLllin th e orca bou nded by Wes t Ho ve n a nd Hopki ns Roa d on th e cas t, t he Town of
Ulysses on the nortJl , th e Tow n of Enfi e ld on th c wes t, and Robe rt H. Tre man State Park on th e so ulh . T he areas of
South Hill from King Road so uth war d to the Tow n of Danby and wes twa rd from th e C ha se La ne/Sau nd e rs Road
area to th e Cayuga Inl et, and along Codd in gton Road from Troy Road so uth eas tward have low res id en ti al de nsity
wit h large tr acts of adjoinin g ope n space .
The exis tin g nlr al character of th ese areas is an important v isua l asse t to res id e nt s of th e Town of It haca . Because
of th eir ize , th ey serve wildlife habitat a nd bi o log ica l co rrid or fun c tion s . T hey co nt ai n th e bulk of ac ti ve ly fann ed
land in th e Town of Ith aca, and many of it s 111 0st eco logica ll y se nsit ive areas. Fi nall y, preservi ng these areas al
rur al den si ti es and ch(lnn eling grow th away from th em red uces the po tenti al for futur e cos tl y ex tensio ns of pub lic
water and sewe r infras tru cture. and adverse impacts to cxisti ng res id e ntial areas from inc rease d Iraffic ge nerated
by large sca le deve lo pm ent in the se areas.
The Tow n of Ith aca. if it is to pr ese rve thi s ex isting ne twork of large co nt iguous open spa ce areas , has to
implem ent meas ures to protec t th em now . These meas ur es ca n ra nge from redu ce d de nsi ty throug h zo ning
co mbin ed wil h cl usler sub divi sio n design to pur chase of deve lopment right s, to acquis it ion by the Town or other
entity.
5Y
3. OPEN SPACE RESOURCES
Ther e arc no quantitativ e standard s of open SP(l CC reso ur ces necessary to preserve th e quality o f life and sce ni c
chara cte r of co mmuniti es . How eve r. it is po ss ible to id enti fy th ose open space asse ts whi ch arc cri t.ica lto the
pr cserv,lIion arleea l sce ni c charac ter , quality of lire, and eco logica l reso urces of th e co mmuni ty . Un lik e
rec rea ti ona l spa ce, th e imp ort ance of ope n spa ce ('I SSe Is does nOt depend on their pro ximity to popul ation ce nt ers.
Many o f th e importanl o pe n s pa ce a ssels wa rranting so me leve l o f protection have bee n identifi ed in the 1990
T ow n of Itha ca Re s id e nls' Survey, th e Co n se rvation Board's 1992 Open Space Report, and th e Tompkins CO llnty
E nviro mne nla l Ma nagemenl Cou ncil 's Uniqu e N atural Areas of Tompk in s Co unty Report. In the Res id e nts'
S urvey, res ponde nt s id e ntifi ed lho se sce ni c reso urces d ee med mos l worthy o f prese rvati o n . The Ope n Space Rep ort
and Uniqu e Na tur al Areas Report fo cuse d o n th e mo st impona nt eco log ica l and sce ni c reso ur ces in th e tOWII ,
Curr entl y, the primary meth od for pr ese rving imp or tant eco log ici:l l and sc en ic reso urces is acqu is ition by th e Slat e
Park s , municipa l pmk s, th e Co rnell Pl anta tions Nawra l A r ~1 S sys tem, Na ture Co nserva ncy, th e Fin ge r Lakes Land
Trus t, or by priv ille own ership with con se rvation easc ment s or ot her dee d res tricti ons li mitin g th e ir deve lop me nt
potential. Mun icipa liti es and the Fin ge r Lakes Land Tll.I st are both abl e to hold co nse rv at.i on ease ment s on
privatel y held pr operty. Publi c access to th ese prote ctcd are as va ri es with th e term s of owncr ship and the fra gi li ty
o f t he area .
Oth er mec hani sms available for ope n space prese rvati on in cl ud e muni ci pal acquis iti o n, zo nin g regulati ons, c lu ster
subdi vis ion, and pur cha se o f deve lopmen t ri ght s by th e Tow n or ot her e ntiti es . St ratcgies for specifi c parce ls of
land s hould be out li ned as soo n as po ss ib le for futur e reference . Plannin g for potenti al oppon.ll nili es ahead of lim e
will facilitat e th e prese rvation of criti ca l op en spa ce reso urces .
I. INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 8
RE C OMM E NDATION: OPEN S PACE RESO URC ES
60
T hi s chapt er sy nth esizes the Goa ls a nd Objec ti ves oullin ed in Chapt er One, a nd th e iss ue raise d in Cha pt e rs Six
and Seve n int o a se ri es o f reco mm e ndat io ns for th e Town of Ithac a. So me of th ese pr ojec ts ma y be ca rri ed out
so lely by the Tow n of Hh aca wh ile oth ers co uld be coo perali ve e ffort s wi th neighb orin g lIluni cip aliti es , New Yo rk
Still e, nOl-for·pro fit co nse rv ,lIl cics , deve lol>e rs, or priva te land ow ners. Th ro ugh such coo perat ive ve ntur es th e Tow n
ca n ensure th at th e open space gOll ls of thi s pl an ca n be met in th e mos t cos t effi cie nt mann er poss ible. T hi s report
reco mm ends th at th e Tow n of Ith aca ac ti ve ly pur sues steps to ensure preserva ti on orits imp ort ant eco log ica l,
ag ri cu ltural and sce ni c ope n space asse ts.
Agg ress ive pl annin g for open space preserva ti on now will p~ly off in th e futur e. The pl annin g oppo rtu niti es th e
Tow n curr entl y has will dimini h as deve lopm ent OCc ur s in th e co min g yea rs. Plannin g and tak in g ac ti on now will
ensure th at th e low n's goa ls with rega rd to ope n space and natur al reso ur ce pr otectio n are met in th e mos t effi cie nt
an d cos t-effec ti ve mann er for tax paye rs.
Co mmuniti es nati onw ide are fi ndi ng th at tradi tiontll pallern s of deve lop ment l!<lve result ed in th e dis ru ptio n of
pl anl and wildlife habit at, wit h a mark ed dec lin e of pla nt cilld ani ma l di ve rsity. Li ke all co mmunit ies , Ollrs faces
th e chall enge of preve ntin g thi s decl in e as we co ntinu e to grow. By taki ng approp riat e ac ti ons, the Tow n of Ith aca
can ensur e th at futur e losses in pl ant ,lIld wild life hab itat and bi odiversi ty du e to deve lopm ent wil l be minimi ze d to
th e ex tent pr ac ti ca ble.
Prese rv ati on of imp ort ant ope n space reso ur ces has both enviro nm entHI and fi sca l benefit s for the co mmunit y.
Rec rea ti onal open spa ce impr oves th e overa ll appea l of a co mmunity to visit ors and in creases tourism. Open spaces
also so fi en urba n a nd s uburb a n la nd sca pes with ribbo ns or g rec n to improve the qualit), or life a nd enh a nce
pr ope rty vat ucs . Co nsum er surveys show th at home buye rs arc willing to pay hi gh premium s to li ve nca r natur al
open spaces . (U rba n La nd [n sutute, 1994 , Na tio na l Associat io n of Home bu il ders, 1995). Thu s, p reserv in g ope n
space be nefit s th e deve loper a nd th e Tow n thr oug h hi gher prope rty val ues. T he cos t or buildin g on many
envir onm ent all y se nsiti ve ar eas , such as stcep slopes , un stab le so il s, and fl oo dpl ain s also ent ails ex tremely
ex pensive co nst nl ct io n a nd hi g h a nnu al up kec p cos ts ror by t.h e own er. T he simpl es l way to avo id th ese cos ts is to
leave th ese (}re,lS wild .
6 1
Unique Splice: Opc n Space Assets
Thi s Plan reco mm end s that th e Tow n of llha ca emb ark o n a sped li e co ur se of ac tio n to e nsu re th e prese rva ti on of
it s signifi cant eco log ical , ag ri culLUrai, sce ni c, cultural , itnd hi sto ri ca l resour ces thr ough a co mbinati on of
tec hniqu es . Onl y by ac tin g ap pr opri c:llcly now ca n th ere be any ass uran ce ll l<lI th ose uniqu e loca l att ribut es will sti ll
be here for future ge nera tions.
Th e tec hniqu es ava ilabl e to th e Tow n of Ith ac a to acco mpli sh th e obj ec ti ves of thi s Pla n a rc : I) enac tm ent of
zonin g densiti es and all owed land uses app ro prillle for ag ri cultural and cnviro nm cl1l::1 ll y se nsi tive ar eas of th e
T own ; 2) li se of cluster subdi vis io n des ig n to pro tec t sma ll er, s it e spec ifi c eco log ical reso ur ces ; 3) vo lunta ry
pur chase of deve lopm ent rig ht s (PD R) pr og ram ; and 4 ) ac qui siti o n by th e Tow n, NYS OPRHP , th e City of Ith aca ,
Co rn ell Pi a Illati ons or oth er pri va te entiti es of ow ners hip of ce rt ain pro pcni es .
Conscn'ation Zoning District
Co nse rv ati on zonin g is an effec ti ve too llO pro tec t th e natur al reso ur ces of H large ar ea. Th e Six Mil e Cree k Va l1 ey
Conse rv ati on Zon e was rece ml y entl cted inlo low n law in th e summ er of 1996. Ori gi naJl y reco mm end ed in the
1990 Ix lvlUe Cre ek : a Heritage to Preserve report , thi s des ignati o n will protec t th e steep slopes , ITI ;:ltur c
woo dlHnd , hi g hl y erodibl e so il s, rar e plant species, water quality of th e reservo ir , and pr ovi de a biolog ica l co rri do r
so uth wa rd fr om th e City of It haca to Lh e Tow ns of Dry den, Danb y, and Ca rol ine. The zone will visua ll y buffer th e
So uth Hill Rec reati on Wa y and help prese rv e an ar ea id entifi ed as an imp ort ant sce ni c reso ur ce durin g pr eparati o n
of th e t 993 Co mp rehensi ve Pla n.
Map 8-1 shows th ose areas of th e Town of Itha ca wh ere co nse rvati o n di stri ct zo nin g is reco mm end ed as a too ) ror
prese rv ation of major areas of ope n spaces . Th ese co nservation zo ning di stri cts as envis io ned would be appli ed to
areas of ex tr eme ly Sleep slopes , sig nifi ca nt wood land s, wetl and s, and large r rav in es and strea m co rr ido rs. In clu de d
am ong th ese areas arc: th e .flank s of \V es t and So uth Hill ; the State P(1 rk s and so me areas adj ace nt to th em; th e
co rr idor of Ca yu ga Inl et wit h it s associ at ed we tl a nd s; th c Coy Gle n a nd Fall Creek SLr ea m co rrid ors ; a nd th e
poni ons of th e c res t of So uth Hill where woo dla nd s, stee p s lopes , a nd wetland s pre do min ate. Th e a reas
rec omm end ed fo r co nse rv <1 ti on zo nin g in thi s pl an co rr es pond to man y of the are <1 S des ig m:llcd HS
Co nse rvati on/O pe n Spa ce on th e 20 10 Anti cipa ted La nd Usc Map in th e 1993 Co mprehe nsive Pl a n.
Agricu ltural Zonin g District
Areas in the Town of Ith aca reco mm end ed for inclu sion in th e revised ag ri cultur al zo ning di stri ct arc (lI so shown
on Ma p 8-1. Th e lar ges t of th e areas is th e pon io n of Wes t Hill bou nd ed roug hl y by th e Town of Ul ysses a nd NYS
Rt e. 96 on th e nonh, Hopkin s, Wes t Have n, a nd Cal ki ns Roa ds on th e ""st, Roben H. T rema n Sta te Pa rk o n th e
so uth , and th e Town of Enfield o n th e wes t. Exce pt res id ential deve lopm ent along road s and hi g hways , and th e
'lO.'--_11'_~ "_1'_
TOVN IT ITHACA
1997 PARK ,
RECREATION 8.
OPEN SPACE PLAN
DECEMBER 1997
HAP 6-1
POTENTIAL ZONING
~ OPEN SPACE
PURCHASE OF
DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
TARGET AREAS
KEY
~ foR["S RE:C.OtOt(JtOCD fOR
~ cttIStRV"TJOO llfilNG
a!~t ~~ ":;I~;~~ lOOINCi
..... __ L· DISTRIC T
~ LANDS PR(p(]s[D rIll
.-.:;;;;;;t :,..zroi~~~ ACi~NG
•• • NlCAS R[C[I(H[NDEJ) f[Jl
lNClUSION IN PlRCHASE:
IF OCVElCJ>t£HT RIGHTS
/'ROO'""
!<ill-
«J01,"lN UltS rptJolU<O [I,i ""aL!( I!QO.DS
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r_ ~ r Ut(,III( ClfcS(PV,"111Jt 0It """1-
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j
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SCALE
..w PR{Po\I1{lI.,.
TtJVN IF ITHACA
PlANNING OCPARTt4E:HT
IZi t..sl 1[10('" 1111«(1
II..-u. In I .SW
63
Drew subdivi sion off Sheffi eld Road , mu ch of thi s arc,) co nsists of large tra cts of co nti g'll oll s mra l and agr icultu ra l
la nd , So il s in th e area are well suit ed for ag ri cu ltu ra l use , Moreove r, mu ch of it is ou tsi de th e curr ent limit s of
publi c wat er and se wer se rvic e,
Fo ur oth er active ly fMlll ed areas are reco mm end ed for protec tion und er a revised agri cullur al zonin g distri ct.
T hese areas in clud e th e so uth ern poni on of Inl et Va ll ey , Ih e lar ge a rea on So uth Hi ll so uth and wes t of Butt erm ilk
Fa ll s State Par k; a nd tw o ag ricu ltu ra l areas tota lin g abo ut 650 ac res ow ned by Co rn ell Univ ersity on Eas t Hill .
Utilizing Clu,st cl-Sub(Jivi~ion Design
While th e usc of clu ster subdivi s ions s hou ld be e ncou ra ged by th e Pla nn ing Boa rd th ro ug hout the Tow n of Ith aca ,
it is parti cul arl y imp ortant th at th e id c(J be lI sed in th e areas id en tifi ed be low to pro tec t im porta nl natura l an d
sce nic reso urces ,
I. T he lowe r ponion of Wes t Hill imm edi a tely wes t of Tau g hanno ck Blvd . (NYS Rt e. 89) whe re steep
s lopes , mature wood la nd , and hi ghl y ero dib le so il pr edo min a te. Preserva ti on o f thi s area wou ld prote ct
the eco logica l reso urces pr ese nt th ere, pr ov id e vis ual buffering for th e prop ose d Black Diamond Trai l, and
pro vid e a bio logica J co rrid or northward from Ih e ci ty.
2. T he Indi an Cree k, William s Brook , Linderma n Cree k, Cli ff Pa rk Brook , a nd Coy Glen Creek str ea m
co rrid ors on Wes t Hil l. Usc of cluste r subdi visio n des ign to rese rve undeve loped or minim all y deve lope d
bu ffe r zo nes along th ese strea ms wo uld maint ain Ih eir natural aes th eti c va lu e for th e enj oyme nt of c urr ent
and fllture res icient sl and ass ist in co nt ro lling stonnwatcr ntn off from new resi denti al deve lopm ent s.
3. Th e a rellS of th e Inlet Va ll ey eas t of Fi ve Mi le Dri ve (N YS Rte . I3A) a nd Elmira Road (NYS RL.e . 13)
where dense r res id enti "ll dcve lopm ent is anti cipated in th e futur e. Clu stcr subdi visio n des ign in th ese areas
wo uld help prese rv e th e wetlands th at pre dominate th ere, protect the water qua li ty of th e Cay uga Inl et. a
hi gh qualit y tro ut str ea m, pr ovi de vis ual bufferin g for Ih e pr opose d B lack Diam ond T nlii , and preserve a
s ig nifi ca nt bi olog ical co rrid or exte ndin g so uth wa rd fro m th e city to Danby a nd New fi eld .
4. T he a reas ofSomh Hill betwee n Danb y Road and Butt ermilk Fa ll s S tat e Park, and th e stee p slope areas
below Danb y Road and north of King Road . T hese are as arc mark ed by a combination of strea m co rridors ,
wellands , m(:l tur e wood land , and steep slo pes whi ch warra nt pr otec ti ve measures . The use of cl uster
subdi v ision for devel opm enl adjacent to BuLter milk Fall s Sta te Park wo uld c reate add iti ona l buffer area s
betwee n flltu re res id enti a l deve lopm ent an d th e day use a reas of th e uppe r park .
5. T he c rc s l o[ So ulh Hill [rom Ith aca Co ll ege so ulh 10 th e T ow n o[ Danb y. T h is a rea con tain s a
co mbin ati on of large areas of wQod li:lnd , sub sta nt ial poc kets o f we tl a nd s, a nd stee p s lopes that warra nt
p ro lect ion. Cluster subdivi sio n de s ign in Ihi s area would help prese rve a la rge tra cl of co nti g uous
wood land a nd sig nifi ca nt wetland reso ur ces , Hnd pro vid e add iti onal buf fe rin g for th e Cla use n Swa mp
Natur a l Area .
Purchase of Dev e lopme nt Ri g h ts
64
Th e Town o[ Ith aca should es tab li s h and rund a vo lunt ary purc hase o [ deve lopmcn t righl s (PDR) pro g ra m [or
ce rt a in ag ri cultu ra l la nd s and key cco log ica ll y se nsiti ve , or sce ni ca ll y imp ortant areas orthe T own . Und er suc h a
pr og ra m th e Town of Itlul ca would pay la ndown ers wi lli ng to acce pt l:l pe rm ane nt easc mc nllimiling th e uses a nd
deve lopm e nt po tenti a l on th eir land . T he amo unt pa id ror Ih c ease me nt wou ld bc dete rmined throu g h a rorma l
Hppra isa l ana lys is . The amount wo uld e qua llhc d iffere nce betwee n th e va lu e o flh e ir la nd for d eve lopme nt
purposes, a nd th e va lu e ,IS ag ri cultura l land or oth e r open s pac e-relat ed uses .
In prac ti ce Sti ch ease me nt s are referre d to ge ncri ca lly as "co nse rvation" or "ag ri cultural " easc me nt s, t llld have bee n
used sllc cessfull y else where in New York and oth e r stat es , by bot h go ve rnm ent and pri vate , not for profit gro up s
suc h as th e IOCH I Fin ge r Lak es Land Tru st, and th e na tionwid e Na tur e Co nse rvan cy or ga ni za ti o ns.
Under Sect. 247 orNew York State Ge nera l Mu nic ipal Law th c Tow n o r Itha ca is em pow ered 10:
" ... a cq uire, by pu rchase , gift, g rant , bequ es t, devise, lease o r ot herwise, th e fcc o r .my lesse r inte res t,
deve lopm e nt ri g ht , ca se me nt, cove nant , or oth e r con tra ctua l ri ght necessary to ac h ieve the purp oses of thi s
chapt e r. to la nd within suc h municipality."
ror th e purp ose o[ pr ese rvi ng :
..... any s pa ce or a rea c ha ra cte ri ze d by (I) na tural sce ni c bea ut y o r, (2) w hose ex istin g ope nn ess, natu ral
co nditi o n, or pr ese nt slal e of use, if retain ed, wou ld enh a nce th e prese nt or pote ntia l val ue of ab utting or
surroundin g urba n deve lopm e nt , or wou ld mai ntain or enh a nce th e co nse rva ti o n of natural or sce lli c
reSO li rees . It
Co nse rvatio n and agri cult ural prote cti on ease ment s arc beco min g wid ely use d as too ls for preservation of open
space asse ts beca use. a mong o th er reaso ns, th ey :
1. mainta in op en space in priva te own ers hip ;
2. lowe r the cos ts or ac quirin g perm a ne nt open s pa ce wi th in a co mmunit y;
3 . ma int ain so me continu ed tax reve nu es;
4. li lllitthe liab ility ex po sur e orthe case ment ho lder. bec au se or th e lim it ed na tu re of th ei r int e res t
in th e la nd .
65
The prima ry be nefit of an case ment pro g ram of th e type pr opo se d is thal th e prop ert ies remain und e r th e
ow ners hip . a nd stewards hip , of privat e land ow ners. T he prop erty a l 0 rema ins o n th e tax roll s, and is assesse d at
it s marke t va lue subj ec t to th e res triction s imp ose d on it s use by th e co nse rvatio n or agr ic lIilur a l easeme nt.
Be ca use th e la nd pro tec teci by ellse ment co ntinu es to be pr iva tely held, it is norm a ll y no t ope n to th e pub lic, li nd
thu s not subjec t to th e sa me pr oblems wi th rega rd to da ma ge and li abi lity fa ce d by publicly held ope n space.
To be mo st effe cti ve a vo luntary pur chase of deve lopm e nt ri g ht s pr ogra m mu st be a im ed a t speci fi c prope n ie s or
co nti g uous tra cts o f land ide ntifi ed as co ntainin g eco logica l, sce nic. or ag ri cullUr a l asse ts worth y of protec t ion . To
thi s end , thi s repo rt reco mm end s that approx im a tely 60 pr operti es in th e Tow n o f Itlm ca be des ig na ted as
candidat es for th e acqui s iti on of co nse rvatio n or ag ri cu ltur a l casem ents (Ma p 8-1). Th ese pr openi es re pr ese nt
appro xim ately 3,600 acres of imp orta nt agri cultural or envir onm entall y se nsi tive land whi ch war ra nt s perman ent
protec ti o n from deve lopment pre ss ure. Beca use of th e co nce ntrati o n of agricu ltur al lan ds o n Wes t Hill , includ in g
land with more va lu abl e Class I and Cla ss II ag ri cultu ra l soi ls, th e majo rity o r th ese p ro pe ni es , tota lin g so me 2,170
acres, (l rc loca ted in th il t a rea. Th ey are reco mm end ed as pri ority cand id ,1t cs beca use or th eir imp ortance as
ag ric ultu ral asse ts . Altoge th e r a ppr ox im a tely 2,800 ac res of agr icultural land and a pprox im ate ly 800 acre s o f
env ironm cnlall y se nsiti ve land are reco mm ende d for in clu sio n in a vo lun tary purcha se or deve lop ment ri gh ts
prog ram . Th e c rit er ia use d to se lec t pr operti es reco mm end ed for a vo lunta ry pu rc hase of deve lopme nt ri ght s
pro g ram are :
I . T he prop erty co nt ains a loca ll y imp o rt a nt ag ri cultura l, eco log ica l or sce nic reso ur ce ;
2. T he agri cultura l a nd/o r eco logica l reso urces on th e property warrant pro tec ti on above and bey on d
that whi ch co uld be pro vided t hr oug h th e prop ose d co nserva tio n Or agricu ltur al di str ic t zo nin g or
oth e r grow th m(lna ge me nttools;
3. A perman e nt case me nt remov in g deve lopment ri ght s on the pro perty wo uld not int crrere wi th th e
T ow n's ability to acc om modat e th e popu lation g rowth that co uld reaso nab ly be ex pec ted throug h
t he nex t 50 to 100 yea rs) wit hout induci ng a 1e.-1p-frog deve lopm ent patte rn ;
4. For agricu ltur a l land a parcel s hould co ntribut e to creat io n of H criti ca l mass of co nti guous
agric uitura lla nd to ensur e optimum e ffi ciency a nd th us eco nomi c viab ili ty fr om th e standp oint of
rannc rs, and to protec t farmers fr om intrudin g re s id enti al deve lopm ent;
5. For eco log icCl ll y se nsi ti ve and enviro nm enta ll y imp orta nt la nd, th e property ll1u stll(lt'bo r o ne or
morc e nvi ronm enta l attrib ut es) co ntribut e to a crit ica l ma ss of ope n space, o r enhan ce
opponunit ies fo r c reati on of a hi g h-q uality bio log ica l co rrid o r.
66
To impl ement thi s propo se d purcha se of deve lopm ent ri g ht s pr ogra m, th e Town sho uld es tabli sh a fllnd for th e
g radual acqui s ition of deve lopm ent ri ght s ov er th e nex t ten yea rs . Th e pot enti al cos t o f thi s envi s io ned purcllil se of
de velopm e nt ri g ht s prog ram, (l nd proposed th e mec hanism for fu ndin g it . are outlin e in Chapt e r Nine .
Th e properti es propose d for in clu s ion in a vo lunt ary pu rchase of deve lopme nt ri ght s pro gra m are pr operti es whic h
arc co nsid ered im portant enou g h to Wclrmnt ex pe nditu re of publi c moni es to pur cha se ease ment s. The Towil
should entert ain accep tance of case ment s on Cllly properti es whi ch may co ntain agri cu llU rf:l1 or eco logica l reso urces
wonhy of prot ec tio n jf offere d as a donation by a landown er , or offered as part of a clu ster subdi visio n des ign.
Open Space Ownership
In so me cases it wo uld be mor c appropr iate for an agency or orga nization olh er th an th e Town of Ith aca to retain
ow ners hip of perm anent open space propose d as part of an ove ra ll subd.i visio n pl at. Where th e opport un il)' exis ts
th e Town should e nco ur age deve lopers to donate or oth erwise tfClflsfc r land s dedica ted as perm ane nt open space to
a not-fo r-p rofi t co nse rvan cy or land tru SI, or ot he r publi c agency. Opp ortu niti es to purs ue such a poli cy ex ist in a
num be r of loca ti ons , incl udin g:
I . Land s along th e low er portion o f We st Hill adja ce nt to the [utur e Black Diamond T ra il co uld be
att ac hed to lh e Trail ri ght-or-way or A llan H. Tr cman Sta te Mari ne Park ;
2. Th e und eve lope d par ce ls of land surroundin g th e Coy Glen Na tural Area mai nt ai ned by Co rnell
Pla ntati o ns;
3. Many large par ce ls of land wit h deve lopm ent pot e ntial loca ted adjacen t to Rob ert H. Tre ma n or
BUll ermilk Fa ll s State Park , or alon g th e Cayuga Inl et strea m co rridor betw ee n th e two ;
4. Se ve ra l und eve loped parce ls of hmd surr oundin g th e Clause n Swa mp Na tural Are<l maint ain ed
by Co rn ell Plantat ion s;
5. Addi ng to th e Nat ur e Co nserva ncy's Eld ri dge Pr eserve s hould adjoinin g land s in th at area be
deve lope d;
6. Ex pan s ion o f th e City Wate rs hedlM ulh oll a nd Wildfl ower Preserve holdin gs through tr a ns fers of
open spa ce re sultin g fr om s ubd ivis ions on adja ce nt prope rti es; and
7. Enl a rgin g th e Co rn ell Labora tory of Ornithol ogy co mpl ex at Sap sucker woo ds.
The tra nsfer of ow ners hip to entiti es oth er th a n th e Tow n of It ha ca be ne nl s th e To wn of Ith aca , as it acco mpli s hes
the g<Xl is of thi s Plan , whil e limitin g to the ex tent po ss ibl e th e cos t to Tow n ta xpa ye rs of mainlainin g suc h ope n
space assets .
C HAPTER~
THE COSTS AN D HOW TO PAY FOR THEM
I. lntrolluction
T he leve l o f investm e nt need ed to carry out th e pro g ra ms o utlin ed i n C ha pte r 5 and C hapt e r 8 is signifi cant . It is
importan t to remem ber that it is invest men t --a co mmitm ent of finan cial reso urces now for futur e (ld va ntH ge or
b e ne fit --th a t is be in g proposed in thi s repon . T hese be ne fi ts will be e l~oyed by all Town of Ith aca res id e nt s
ge nerati ons to co me.
67
There arc thr ee maj or cos ts assoc iated with th e re co illm e nded pro g ram s ou tlin ed in th e previoll s chHp lers. Th ey are
I ) in ves tm e nt s in th e e nvi s ioned park fa c iliti es : 2) p urcha se of deve lop me nt ri g hts (P DR) fo r open s pace a nd
imp ort ant agric ultura l la nd s pr ese rvati on; and 3) th e cos ts of mainlcna nce and operation of park land and
faci liti es .
The key to carryin g oullh e propo sal s mos t effi c ientl y is th e deve lopm ent of a fi scal pl an, and a co mmiltn enllO
provid e th e necessa ry fundin g for thaL plan on an annu al ba sis. In doin g so the Town can ca lcu lat e, at the ou tse t,
th e cos ts it will in cur ove r th e co ur se of car ry in g Oll t thi s Pla n, and integ rate lh e m into it s long·range fi sca l
plan nin g.
Moreove r, plannin g now wi ll enabl e th e Town to capi tali ze on the i:wl:l il ability of out side so ur ces of fundin g such as
sla te or federal grant pro gram s. Ha vin g a pill elt e o f pa rk and rec rea tion capi tal improve ment propo sals "o n th e
shelf' and rea dy for impl ement ati on, with matchin g fund s already in th e Town 's annm:l l bud get, grea tl y enhan ces
th e Tow n's co mpe titi ve advanta ge whe n appl ying for such grant s.
Th ere are many metho ds th e Tmvn of Ith aca ca n use to fund the park and recreat i on impro ve ment s proposed in
thi s re port , and to pr ese rve it s imp ortant agr icultural and eco log ical reso urces . Wilh adequate planning , th ese
pr og rams do no l req ui re large in crea ses in prope rt y taxes fo r Tow n res ident s, Th e keys to success are co mmitm ent
to the Plan , foresig ht and cre<lti ve plannin g in carry in g out th e Plan, and effect ive use of all potent ia l so ur ces of
fundin g fo r park deve lo pm e nt lllld ope n s pa ce preserva ti o n.
2. BUDGETING FOR THE FUTURE
C apita l Lm l.rovements C osts --Future Parks and Bi cycle/Pedest rian Path Deve lopment
The capita l impr ove ment bud ge t is a long·range plan that la ys out th e limin g and cos ts of th e ca pital impr ove ments
a nd hind acq ui s it ions necessary to rea li zc th e pa rks a nd bike wa y compo n ent s of thi s P la n . These cos ts a rc
68
di stingu ished rrom th e opera ti o nal cos ts or a park sys tem in Ut at they are o ne-tim e cos ts. They may be cos ts whi c h
th e Tow n ca nn ot afford or does not wi s h to pa y fo r in a s in g le fi sc al ye ar , or pr ojec t cos ts whi ch ma y be fund ed by
grant s and oth er ex tern al so urces .
Th e leve l or in ves tm ent a nti cip a ted by th e reco mm e nd ati ons in th is repo rt mak c th e deve lopm ent o r a lon g -ra nge
cap ital impr ove me nt pl an a necessary f::l etor in Town fi sca l plannin g. Throu g h such plannin g, these in ves tm e nts
c(m be acco mpli shed in mor e eas il y ac commodat ed in creme nts . Bond ing of very large cap ital impro ve ment s also
beco mes poss ibl e. Finall y. such up -front pl annin g fa vo rabl y pos iti ons th e Town of Itha ca to ge t ml:llc hin g state or
federal grant s for pmk deve lopm ent.
Th e cos t es tim ates ror rutur e park rac iliti es a nd the bi cy cl e a nd pedestrian path netw ork a re ba se d on th e
reco mm end ed uses fo r lhe individu al future park s ites and bicyc le and pedes tri an routes id entifi ed in Chapt e r Five .
Ge neri c cos t es tim ates fo r th e va riou s co mpon ent s of park faci liti es , (e .g ., typi ca l ba seba ll diam ond) and path s
(e .g., ty pi cal 10 n. wide bikeway) \v e re deriv ed from a var iety of so ur ces , in c lud ing projec t cos t data from ac tu al
Tow n or Cit y of Ith aca park impro ve ment s, and co nstru ction indu stry cos t es timatin g refere nces . These es tim ates
we re th en app li ed to th e speci fi c sit e or rout e.
Future Park Improvem e nts
Tab le 9-1 li sts th e rcco mm end ed capit a l imp rove ment s ouUin ed in Chapte r Fiv e ror co mp letion over Ut e life o r thi s
pla n. They in clud e th e types or ra ciliti es that will be nccde d to mee t th e rec reation a l nee ds or Town re s ident s in th e
co min g decades, sll c h as ba se ball/softball and soccer fie ld s, baske tball co urt s, tenni s co urt s, pla y stna ctur es fo r
childr en, pi c ni c faci lit ies , walkin g path s, and spa ce for a wid e va ri ety of info rm HI rec rem io nal acti viti es.
In addition to mo ni es for th e new faci liti es li sted ill Tab le 9-1, S50 ,OOO in fundin g is included in the proj ec tcd
ca pit ~:ll impr ove ment cx pcnditures. This money is for modifi ca ti ons to c;..ds tin g park fa c iliti es necessary to ensure
co mplian ce with the access ibility sta ndard s orthe Ameri ca ns With Di sa biliti es Ac t o r 199 1. These mod ifi ca tion s
arc sc hedul ed ror co mp lctio n in 1997.
Sin ce a ll or th e pa rk sit es li stcd in Tab le 6-1 arc ei th er a lread y own ed by th e Town or Itha ca, or are expec ted to be
ob tain ed throug h subdi visio n park and open spa cc dedi cati on mec hani s m or thr oug h la nd donati on (Map le
Ave nu elM itc hell Str ee t si te), no land acqui si tion cos ts arc includ ed in th e cos t es tim",es . The total a nti cipated cos ts
ro r th e pr opo se d future park impro ve me nt s ove r a 20-yea r pe ri od is $2 ,25 0,000 .
69
T abl e 9-1. Pro posed Future Parks, IInlH'O VC lll c nt s, and Es tima te d Cus t s
Prop osed P r o posed Ca pita l Estima ted
P a r k S ite Improvem e n ts to Si te Cost
Mapk Ave'! Mi tchell Sl. 112 ac. lawn ur..:u , wulkwuy s, benche s, signagl.!, play stnact un:,
NcighbOl 'hood Pa rk (1.5 - 3 ac.) bas ketba ll court , security li ght ing , hmdscu pe plant ings $80,000
Vim.::¢JlZo Iacove ll i 1 nc. lawn area, walkways , be nches , signage, pla y s tru c luTt::,
Neighborhood Pa rk (3.5 ac.) baske t ba ll cou rt , sec uri ty ligh t ing . land scape plantin gs $80 ,000
Clul!'c rarm 112 ac . luwn t lrt!il . wa lkways , benc hes, signagc . pl tly s tructure ,
Neighborhood Purk (1.5 ac .) baske tba ll court , s ecu r ity light ing , lundscap e p lan t ings $75 ,000
We stwood HilisIWoo l r Lane 1/2 UC. lawn u reu, wu lkwu ys, benche s, s ignage , ph ty s tr ucture , $65,000
Neig hborhood Pa rk (1.7 li e.) sl.!cu rity lig ht in g, land scll pe p lan tin gs
Dat~s Dr.lDuboise Rd . 112 ac . lawn urea, walkways, benches, s ig nage, p lay s tructurt!,
Ne ighbo rh ood Park (1.5 "c .) baske tba ll CO Ll rt, security li ght ing, landsca pe planting$ $75 ,000
Nl!ig hbor hood Park to Eus t or 1/2 ac . of luwn (lre,t, walkways, bcnchl.!s , s ignage , play structure,
Former Odd Fell ows Complex securi ty li gh ting , hLr\d scape plantings $65 ,000
(1.5 ac .)
TlUml:l n sb urg Rd.lHopkins Rd . 112 ae . o f l<1wn lIrea , walkways, benc hcs, signage, play s truct ure,
Nei g hborhood Park (1.5 ac .) security ligh tin g, landscape plan tings $65 ,00 0
We s t Huvl!n Rd .fMeck lcnburg I ae. lawn an:3 , w~l kwa ys, bench cs , s ignugc , p lay s tn lCtLI r l!,
Rd .lElm Sl. Neighbor hood Park baskct bu ll courl, security ligh ting, lundscapc p lull ti ngs $80 ,0 00
(6.5 ac .)
Co)' Gle n Rd .lEl m St.!C ity 112 ilC . of lawn a rea, walkways, ben che s, s ig nagc , pl ay st ruct u re ,
Ne ig hborhood Pa rk (1.5 ac .) security l igh t in g, landscupl! p l<l nt ings $65,000
m lc t Vullcy Conu n unity 2 baseball/sotlbull dia monds, I socc er fie ld , 4 teTUl is courts. I
Park Complex (Tutelo & Sapo ni basketball CO ll rt, 5 a c . lawn areas, 2 mi. ofwal k\.\'uy s, 2 p llJ y
si tes with connt=c li o n vi a s truc ture s,2 comfo rt s tat ions , .5 mi . roa ds & 50 purki n g s pm:es,
Man cini lan d ) (25 nc .) 4 20x30 11 picnic puv i lion s, 40 pi c n ic tab les, b t:!nc hes, s ignuge,
security lighting, la nds ca pe planting s $760,000
West H i ll Co mm un ity P(:lrk 1 ba sl!bu ll /so tlba ll diamon d , 1 soccer fi eld , 4 te nni s courts, 1
(20 ae.) basketba ll co urt , 4 ac . lawn arcas , 1 mL walkway s, 1 pll:ty
s truc tu re . I com/()l t sta ti on, 50 parking s paces, 2 20x30 fl .
p icnic pavi lio ns, 20 picnic wblc s, bc ncht!s, sig nagl!, secu ri ty
li ghtin g, la ndscape p lanti ngs $4 75,000
South Hill Conununi ty Park I bas~ba ll /sonba ll d inmond , 1 oo s kl!trndl co urt , 5 ac . lawn
(10 lIc .) arcus , .5 mi. walkwuys , I play stru cture , I comfort s tat ion, 20
pa rk in g sp<1 ces, 10 picni c tables , benches, s ignagl!, security
lighti ng. lan d scupc pla nt ings $28 0,000
Tn reyton Pur k Im provemen ts Upgrade the existing h a ll field to reg u latio n s tanda r ds . $35 ,000
Americans Wi th Di s ubililie s Ac t Misl,;~l lancous m odi fi cations to bri ng exi s t in g par k fucil itic:s in to
compli a n ce com p li a nce w ith A.D .A. s tandard s $50,000
TOTAL $2,2 5 0,0 110
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BicyclefPedcst rian Paths
Th e Town of Ith aC1:1 is in a uniqu e pos iti on t.o de velop, ove r th e nex t two dec'lci cs. an integ ral netwo rk of bi cyc le
(md pcdcs lriml path s to se rv e bo th th e rcc rci:ui onal and transpo rt ati on nee ds of res id ent s. This sys te m of pat hs
would pr ov id e an alt ern ali ve to th e autolll obile for transport to (lnd fr om lo cal parks, retail eS lC:l bli shm cnt s, and
work whil e allhe sam e lim e prov idin g opp ortuniti es for rec rea ti o nal walkin g, bi cycl in g, jogg in g, a nd oth er leisure
acti viti es. Th e sys tem 's ove rall length would be ab out 2 1 mil es if co nstm cted to th e ex lent outlin e below.
Th e sys tem will co nsist primaril y of off-roa d pa ths. However . som e sec ti ons will foll ow ex istin g str ee ts or
hi ghw ays. For th ose porti ons or th e sys tem, s id ewalks . bik clancs, or a co mbin atio n af both , arc pro pose d wh erc
appropriat e a nd fac tored int o th e proj ec ted cos t o f th e path . Tabl e 9-2 outlin es th e reco mm end ed new bi cycle and
pedes trian pmh sys tem a nd th e type a nd COSIS of th e improve me nt nee ded to deve lop il.
It shoul d be noted that , alth ough for th e purp oses or th is Plan th ey arc co nsid cred rec rea ti onal fHC il iti cs, mos t o f th e
pro pose d sidewalk an d bik elanc imp ro vemcnt s bein g proposed are also transport atio n imp rovc ment s, and ca n
leg itim ate ly be in corp orated int o (\ tran sporta tion im prove ment pro gram . Alt oge th er app rox im ately $280 ,000 o f t he
ex penditures propose d in Ta bl e 9-2 , or abo llt 15% o f the total, would direc tl y res ult in an enh ance ment orth e
pcdcs tr hl n and bi cyc le fran:jpo rrori on netw ork of th e Tow n of Ithaca .
Th ese sid ewalk and bik e lan e improvemcnt s mes h with th e goa ls ancl reco mm endati ons of th e 1995 Lo ng Ran ge
Transportation Pl an adopte d by th e Itha cH-T ompkin s Count y T ransport ati on Co un cil. By im eg ralin g th em int o th e
IT CTC Tra nsport at ion Improv ement Pr og ram (TIP) th e To wn ma y mak e addition a l out sid e fundin g so ur ces
ava ilabl e. Th e lota l es tim ated cos t for Ul e pr oposed bicy cl e/pedes trian path sys tem is $2 ,050 ,000 .
Ad .iustlnent to Estimated Cost of Parks and BicyclefPcdcstrian Facilities
T he tWd cos t of all th e pro po se d park s and bicyc le a nd ped es trian fa ciliti es in Tabl e 9-1 a nd Tabl e 9-2 is $4.3
milli on. Howeve r, thi s fi h'llre ca n be sa rely adju sted downw ard . Th e reaso n is that thc park s shown assum c th e
deve lop ment for res id ential purp oses of so me 1,500 ac res of I'lnd . Thi s sca le of futur e resi denti al deve lo pm e nt is
2.5 tim es th e amount anti cip ated in the 199 3 T own of Ith ac a Co mp re henSive Pl an.
Thll s not all th e tra cts of land for whi c h pu bli c park s a rc pr opose d a re in rea lity go in g Lo be deve lope d ove r th e
neXl two deca des . Deve lopm e nt of Ul e full 1,500 ac res nonetl lC less mu st be a nti cip ated for thi s re port , s in ce th ere is
no wa y 10 kn ow ah ea d of tim e wh a t spec ifi c pa rce ls will be deve loped, or when th ey will be deve loped. T o ensur e
th at no oppo rtuniti es are los t, a full range of potenti al futur e park and rec rea ti on fa ciliti es , and pedes tri an and
bi cyc lc path s, is prese nt cd for lo ng te rm pl annin g pu rposes.
Ta bl e 9-2. Future Bi cyc lelPedes trian Paths and Es timat e d C ost s
Propos ed Path Propo se d Route.: I..t!ngth E~tim lJtcd Cost
Sa psucker Wood s to Lub . of Ornitho logy to Co rne ll cmnpus via 2 .7 mi . lotu l:
Co m!!11 Univ ers it y Sa lem Pk.,Bir chwood , Mu rie l & Bl ue Grass 4 ,000 Lfbike/pcd. p"th s; 575 ,000
Ln ., Hasb rouck Apt s. und Fuertcs Ob servat ory 6,800 Lf ,idewalk ,; 75 ,00(1
5,000 Lrbikelall« 90000
524 0 ,000
East Ithw.:u Map le Ave , bet ween c<t:->l unci so uth ~I.!c li o n s of OJ mi . tot a l:
RecreClli on Wa y path 1,600 Lfbikel tlTll;::;;; $30.00 0
impr ovement s 1,600 Lf s id e wa lk 20000
$50 ,000
Wm , & Hann ah PI!W Eas t Ith ttcu Rec . Way to NYS RIc . 79 viti 1.4 mi . toll)l :
Tra.il Horme s!', Bil ldwin I<l ud s, T udor Purk & Park 4 ,000 Lfbike/pcd. pm hs; $75,000
Lane 3 ,500 Lr s idewalks ; 4 0 ,000
1,900 Lf bikelulles 35000
$15 0,000
Upper So uth Hi ll Chu sc Ln. lO Codd . Rd @ Hud son via Deer 5.3 mi . to tal :
Network Run, Rap oni & I.C. lan ds; Dee r Run to Dan by 26,400 Lf hike/ped . plllh s; $500 ,000
Rd . via So. Hi II ca mm . park ; east to Codd . Rd 4 ,200 Lf sid<walks 501100
& So . Hill Rec . Way via Troy Park $5 50 ,000
Au rom StlB utterm ilk Au rora St. to UP Pl;!r Butle nni lk Fu ll s Sl. Pk. via 2.0 mi . total '
Fa ll s Path Axiohrn . Ith tlcan:. Cayu gu Vi SlU, W. King Rd . B,500 Lfbikc/pcd. put hs; $160 ,0 00
2,200 Lf s idewalk; 25,0110
2,200 Lt' b ik e lune s 45,000
$230 ,0 00
So. Hi ll Ree . Way to So . I-till Ret:. Way all-lud so n Sl. to Bulte rmi lk ~,I mi , total :
Buttermilk Fls. SI. Full s SI. Pk . via fo rmer DL&W RR grad e . 10 ,100 Lr bi k e/pcd . paths; $95 ,000
Pk . Ex tens ion 750 Lf s id e walk 5001l
$100,0 00 ••
In le t Valley Path S.!I poni par k to futur e State Bla ck Diam ond trail 1,3 mi . tota l:
via Tutel a park & Five Mile Driv e. 5,300 Lf b ike/pod pa ths; $100,000
1,600 Lr s id ewalk ; 20,000
500 Lf bikelan<s 10 1100
$130 ,000
Upper We s t Hill Pa th Vicinit y o r Elm Sl. north to Hayt s & Hopkin s 3·1 lDi . tOIU I: 5310,000
Rd . via new camm . park , wI spur to hO$pi tu l. 16,300 Lf bike/pcd . path
Lowe r We st Hill Pa th Woo l f Ln . to Cass Park vitt Evergr~t:n Ln., 2 .1;) mL tota l:
hosp it al, Cuy uga elin s propl!rty and fo nner 13,500 Lr hik e/ped . puth s ; $25 5,000
L VR.R gTude , wI sp ur north to L VRR grade at 2 ,100 L1'sidcw.l k; 25 ,000
lndian Cret!k 600 Lf bike la ne, .J.!1QQQ
$290,0011 ...
TOTAL 2 1.1 miles $2 ,050,000
Included in 1984 Park and OPt!1l Sp(ICt! Phm Update .
A ssu mes cos t share with Cit y of Itha ca , wi th Ci ty to us!'ume a minimum of 50% ofprojcl.:l co!'t.
• .. ... Assum es 1,200 Lf of bikc!ped . path along lormcr L VRR gradt:: to be buill by SUit e as pa rt of BI(1c k Dia molld Tra il .
7 1
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Whi le in re"lity o nly approximate ly 40 pe rce nt o f the land areH on w hi c h thi s Pla n is ba se d is expec ted to be
d eve loped , "I mos t 50 pe rce nt o f th e p rojc cted $2 .25 milli on in park deve lopm e nt cos ts are targeted to s ites th at th e
Tow n alrea dy ow ns, or whic h ''''Quid be acquired throu gh means oth er than park and open spa ce dedi cat ions. If
ov er the nex t tw o decades th e T own were to obtai n three orlile seve n new nei ghbo rh ood pa rk site s, ;:Illd th e small er
(So uth Hi ll ) of th e two addition al co mmun ity park s it es , the cos t of dcve lop in g those s it es wo u ld be a n additi o na l
$500 ,000 . G ive n thi s, th e Tow n ca n expec t to in ves t abo ut $1.6 mi l lion , o r ro ug hly 70% o rthe to tal estim me d
$2 .25 mill ion for ne w park and rec reati o nal fac il itie s.
As wi lh park faci li t ies , on ly part of th e proj ec ted bi cyc le/pedes tri a n pat h sys te m s how n in Table 9-2 is ti ed to futu re
res id enti a l d eve lop me nt. Right o f wa y for ap p rox imate ly 55 perce nt o f th e proposed syste m is e ilh er in Tow n
ow nership , or is expec ted to be obtai ned thr ough m CH Il S oth er th an pa rk and open spa ce dedi ca ti ons. A lso , ab out 25
per ce nt of th e total cos t of th e sys te m co nsists of bikc lancs and sid ewa lk improve ment s.
T hu s, rou ghl y onc-qu il rt cr of th e envision ed sys tem is depe nd ellt On futur e res ident ia l deve lopm ent. If about onc-
half of th e an ti cip ate d bik eway ri g ht of way s ar e acq uir ed thr oug h th e park and open space dedi ca ti on pr ocess, th e
Tow n ca n expec l to de ve lop abo ut 85 pe rce nt o f th e envis io ned bi cycle/pede strian path sys tem e nv isioned in this
Pla n. Th is wo uld require an in vestl11 e nt or$1.8 lI1illi o n, or $250,000 less thn n s hown i ll Tab le 9-2 .
Base d on the above assess ment , th e Tow n of Ith ac a can pla n to in vest $3 .4 milli o n in new park and
bi cycle/pedestr ia n facil iti es ove r lh e nex t twe nty years , Thi s is $900 ,000 less th an the inves tm ent s projec ted in
Tab le 9-1 a nd Tab le 9 -2 .
Purchase of Development Ri ghts (PDR) Progrmn Costs
The bud ge t ror a PDR pro g ram is, in ma ny respects , s imilar to a ca pit a l improveme nt s bud get. 11 co ns is ts or a
se ri es of onc-ti me cx pend.iturcs spread out over the co ur se of ten or more yea rs. EilC h easc mCnI ac quired ca n be
co ns id ered a proj ec t. The pro g ram cos ts ma y also be fund ed by so urces oth er than Town tax revenues , s uch as
bonds o r g ra nt s .
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There arc th ree cos t ele me nt s to co ns id er in th e es tabli shm ent of a PDR pro gram . The fir st, and largest, is the
in ves tm e nt needed to purc ha se th e actual deve lopment ri g ht s on land. T he seco nd clemen t co ns ists of those cos ts
direct ly associated wit h th e acquis ition o f ag ri cultura l or co nserva tion ease ment s. Th ese inclu de th e cos ts of it ems
such as appraisa ls, titl e sea rches, tit le in sura nce if dee med necessary . a survey and attorney fees , and Hny filin g
fees. Fi nall y. the re arc cos ts associa ted with monitorin g th e ease ment s obt ain ed throu gh th e program .
To deve lop th e COS l es timat e for a PDR pr og ram , delta on a sesse d land va lu es , <1gric uitural land va lu e, Hnd land
sa les fr o m the Tompkins Cou nty Assessment Dcparunellt we re rev iewe d. Based on thi s analysis , th e va lu e orthe
deve lo pm e lll ri g ht s on a littl e less th a n 3 ,700 ac res in th e proposed prog ram wo u ld average approximate ly $860.00
per acre . This es timat e was deve lope d by fir st co mputin g th e average assesse d va luation pe r acre (t he esti mate d
va lu e or th e land as det e rmin ed by CO UIllY Assessment staff ro r pro perty ta x purpo ses) for all parce ls no minat ed ror
inclu sion in th e propo se d PDR pro gram . T he asse sse d va lua tion of ca ndidate parcels wa s use d beca use it dm es
from ) 993 onward .
Fro m (h ere, the average va lue of th e agricu ltural ce iling , Or th e tax ab le port ion of th e land 's assessed va lu e for land
enrol led in th e Co unty agricultural assess me nt program , WHS c;.\lcul ated for th ose ca ndid ate par ce ls cune llll y
enro ll ed in the Coun ty agr icultural (I ssess men t program . Thi s provid ed an es timat e of th e va lu e per acre of th e
lands se lec ted for PDR after th ose ri g ht s we re pur chased . Thi s method of estimati ng was used because
approximately 30% of the ca ndidate p,lrce ls, e nco mpa ssi ng 50% of th e ac rea ge targe ted for the proposed PDR
prog ram , are enroll ed in th e Co unty (lgr icultur aJ assessmen t program . Finall y, th e ave ra ge va lu e per acre orth ose
lands with th e agricultural ce ilin g in pla ce was subtra cted fr om the ave rage assessed va luati on or th e ca ndidat e
parce ls :
Average assessed va luation per ac re:
Average ag ri cullu ra l ce ilin g value per acre :
Subtotal -es timated pe r acre cost of deve lopm e lll ri g ht s :
COl1linge ncy fa c tor
Estimated cos t pe r ac re or develo pment rig ht s :
$1,525 .00
775 .00
$750 .00
+ 15%
$860 .00 (rounded 00)
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Th e ab ove property asseSS me nt da ta is supp o rt ed by re co rd ed land sa les data for raw la nd in Ih e Town of Ilha ca
and adjoi ning muni cipa liti es . Acco rdin g to th e land sal e data cull ed fr om th e Assess ment Depa rtm ent reco rd s for
1992 , 1993 and 1994 , Ih e average sa le pri ce for large und eve loped Ir acts o rland (19 acres and ov e r) in mra l areas
of th e Town of Ith aca , nOL se rved by pub li c wa le r and se wer , was $1,353 per acre, or abo uL $170 less Lh an Ih e
$1,525 use d in th e above equlllion . He nce the a ppro x imaL ed average cos l per ac re of $860 for deve lopme nt rig hts
can be co nsi dered a safe es timat e.
In addition to th e actual cost per (Jcre of deve lopme nt right s, it is estima ted th at eac h case ment acquir ed will cost
a n a ddilional $4 ,000 La $5 ,000 fo r a pp ra isa l, surve y, attorn ey fees, and ot her ass oc im ed tr a nsacti on cos ts. T hi s
es timat e is based on th e ex peri ence of adm in istrator s in land tru sts and other age nc ies that over see PDR pro g ram s
el se where . Ba se d on thi s es tim a le, up lo $35 0 ,000 ca n be ex pec ted to be nee ded ove r t he co ur se of th e pro gra m to
cover th ese cos ts .
It is imp ortant to note th at Lh a cos t es timat es for th e PDR program prese nt ed abov e ar c ba se d on two ass umpti ons:
all eli g ibl e landown ers wou ld participa te in th e progr am , and all easement s acquired will be purcl ulse d ease me nt s.
Th ese tw o ass umptio ns are importa nt fa ctors in determinin g th e pote nti al cos t of any PDR pro g ram . In co rp oratin g
th em into th e cH lculmi ons o f futu re pro g ram c osts res ult s in an cS Limm e orth e maximum commit ment of reSO ur ces
lh e Town can expec t to muke in prote ctin g th e opt imal numb er of ac re s of ag ri culturall y or cco log icclll y im portan t
land .
For ,my numb e r of reaso ns, not all landow ne rs who wo uld be eli gible are expe ctcd to tak e advanta ge of th e
proposcd progra m. Som c nm y not wish to fo rec lose on future op tion s th at th ey ma y pe rce ive ex ist. Oth er own ers
ma y not fec I th e nee d to mak e s uch a co mmitm e nt to th e TaW il , eith er now or in th e future . Non eth eless , it is
imp ortant to ass um e for cos t es tim ate purpo ses, th at all landown ers wi ll parti c ip ate in th e pro g ram , if o nl y bec au se
th e hi g her th e participati on rat c, th e more s uccess ful th e Tow n of Ilh aca will be in prese rving large , co nti guous
Clre:1S of imp o rt ant agric ultur al and cco logica l ar eas .
So me land ow ne rs ma y participaLe in the progra m, but donate Hn case ment to Ih e Town . Fo r som e landown ers ,
Ih ere ma y be grea ter tax relat cd be nefi ts acc med from such donation . Thi s ap proa ch, of co ur sc , s hould be
enco ura ge d by th e To wll .
Fi na ll y, a llh ou g h Ih ey arc not ex pec ted to be s ig nifi ca nt co mpa red with oth e r COSIS associa ted wi th a POR prog ram ,
thc long -t erm cos t of admini sterin g acquir ed case ment s mu st bc co nsid ered. Genera ll y, th ese cos ts arc in curr ed
th rou gh th e annua l monit orin g of easem e nt s th Ht s hould be an int egra l aspec t of illly pro gram. At th e very
75
minimum thi s monit orin g should in clud e requ es tin g annu al infor mati on fr om the property ow ners on any changes
to th e prope rty, in cl udin g new co nstru cti on or cessat io n of fa rm ing on all or part of lhe ir land .
W henever poss ibl e an an nu al pr operty in spec tio n th at in cl udes a wa lkove r of th e pro perty and doc uill entati on of
any re leva nt c hange s s hould be co ndu cted. At a ll tim es, th e re s hould be prompt re spo nses to any v iolations o f t he
terms of th e case menl.
Base d on co nsuilmi ons wi th a num ber o f ex ist in g pro gram s in th e north eastern United Slat c, th e Town ca n c;.:pe ct
to all oca te app rox imately two da ys ofstaff ti mc per acq uir ed case men t per ye ar . Ass uming the acqui s iti on of
ease ment s all the 70 pr ope rti es re co mm end ed in thi s report , and 250 workin g da ys i n an average yea r, a pr og ram
co uld requir e th e eq ui va le nt of a two-t hird s time po siti on to over see co mpli ance wit h case me nts co nd ition s . Thi s
pos it ion co uld eith er be a new po s iti on or become pa n of tile res ponsibiliti es oLm exis tin g pos iti on.
For the purpo ses of cost est imatin g, th is pos iti o n can expect to be a Class 'M ' or hi g he r pos it io n wit hin th e Town 's
Civi l Serv ice classiflcm ion sys te m. T he sal aI)' ra nge for such a pos it ion in 1996 do ll a rs is $25 ,000 to $3 4 ,047 , wi th
a job rate of $29,036. Assu ming the job rat e to be th e stl iary of suc h a person , th e ann ual cos t of mo nitorin g in th e
yea r 20 17 th e maximum numb er of ease ment s ant icipa ted und er th e proposed prog ra m wou ld be approxima te ly
$20,000 in 1996 do ll ars . Agai n, however , if the Town does not llcc umulatc all th e e nv is io ned ea se me nt s, th e cos ts
of monitor ing wo uld be dec re ased.
It is expec ted to lake a t le ast six to te n ye ars for the Tow n of Itha ca to ac quire deve lop me nt ri g hts to 50% o f th e
tar ge t land s. Thu s ove rsight of acquircd ease me nt s is thu s not expec ted to co nsum e a s ig nifi ca nt am ount of slaff
lim e dur in g the ea rly yea rs of th e progra m. No ncth e lcss , thi s pl an ant icipate s th e co mmitm ent to a two -th ird s time
po s iti on fro m the beg innin g of th e pr og ram onw ard due to th e th e amount of tim e th at will be nee ded in th e ea rl y
years of th e pro gra m fo r ease ment -re lated nego tiati o ns and ac qui s itio n ove rsig ht , and ed uca ti onal outreach.
Futur e Park ys te m Operatiolla l Costs
T he Tow n o f Ith aca Pa rks Depa rtm e nl has a se parat e ope ra ting bud get within th e tota l Town bud ge t. For fi sc a l
ye ar (FY) 1997 th e De pa rtm e nt 's total budge t is $208 ,000 . It s staff co nsists of th e Pa rks Mana ge r anel three
laborer s. An in crease in Pmk s Departm c nt staffi ng, bot h per man ent and seaso nal, s ho uld be ant ici pat ed if th e
deve lop ment of th e additi oTl al Town park s pro cee ds as anli ciprl ted.
In add ili on 10 its park ma int e nan ce a nd deve lopm e nl res ponsi biliti es , Ih e Pa rks Depa rt me nt staff c urre ntl y prov id es
ass istan ce to th e Tow n Highwa y and Tow n Enginc erin g depa rt ment s on a reg uli:lr bas is and co ndu cts annua l leaf
a nd b rtl sh pi ckup s. App roxi mate ly 10% of its s taff tim e is all oc ated tow ard lea f 'lIld bmsh pi cku p eac h yc ar.
76
Anothe r 10% to 150/.. is spent ill su pport of ot her departm ent s, in cludin g res toration work on roads , wa ter Hnd
se wer proj ec ts, and by suppl eme nting Hi g hway Departm ent staff on pavin g proj ec ts l:l nd with winter s now pl ow in g.
In it s c urrent co nfi g uratio n th e Park s De partm ent bud ge t does not forma ll y se pa rate expe nditures illlo "op eratin g "
and "cnpital improv ement s" cmcgor ics . Rathe r, it br eaks expe nditures int o "mainten ance " and "co nstru cti on,"
which in pra cti ce ar e th e sam e as "operati ng" and "cap it al " ex penditur es . The Departmen t's 19 97 bud ge t is broke n
down as fo llow s:
Perso nn el Services -
Ma int enan ce
Construc ti on
Equip ment -
Co ntra ctu a l' -
Mainten ance
Construc ti on
You th Conservatio n Co rp s (VCC)
Mi sc . O th er
Total
$56 ,100
$49 ,90 0
$21 ,000
$22.000
$50 ,000
$7 ,000
$2 ,000
$208,000
Ba se d on th e abo ve fi gur es , th e l11 ilintcnance co mp onent s of th e Town Park s Departm e nt bud ge t in FY 1997 is
app ro."..:imately $78 ,10 0 . Thi s fi &'lJr e also in clud es th e numb er of non-park maint enan ce relat ed ta sks perform ed by
Parks Deparunent personnel. Th ese in c lud e th e annu al leaf and bm s h pi ckup , assisting the Hi g hw ay Departm ent
with summ er pavin g projec ts and wimer s now plowing , and si te res torcHi on aft er road , water , or se wer repHi r
proj ec ts . When adjustme nt s arc mad e for thi s work for other departm e nt s, th e portion of th e ope rathl g bud ge t
ac tu ally dedi cated to park mainte nan ce drops to betwee n $58,600 and $62 ,500 .
The ca pital improve me nts bud ge t, includin g th e fundin g for th e You th Co nse rvation Co rp s progra m, is $10 6,000 .
Under the fo ll owin g sce nario, o nl y th e operationa l costs of th e Park s Depa rtm e nt will be co ns id ered ; th e ca pit a l
improvement cos ts havin g bee n cove red in prev ious sec ti ons.
Ba sed on 199 7 fi g ur es , ann ual openuional costs for th e va ri ous pr opo sed Tow n park s in th e fut ur e will be an
es timated $7 ,500 pcr nei g hb orhoo d park , $9 ,000 pe r prop osed West Hi ll a nd South Hill Co mmunity park, a nd
approx imately $16 ,000 pe r ye", fo r th e Inl et Va ll ey co mpl ex .
Co n t ra ctua l in c ludes s upplies a nd con s t r u ction ma t er i a l s, a nd a ny services
con trac t e d f or fr om o u tsid e v e ndors or con trac t ors . Th e YCC p rogram is i nclude d
becau se i t i s a p r ogram t h e City o f I t h aca You th Burea u admini sters a nd s t a ff s .
77
Ne ig hb orh ood park maint enance co sts ar e expec ted (0 include C;.lre of a 0 .5 to 1.0 acre law n with w(l lkwa ys.
be nc hes, s ig na ge , a play s tnlc ture, a bas ketball co u rt , s ec urit y lig htin g a nd land scape p lanti ngs. Care o f th e
pro po se d Wes t Hill a nd So uth Hill Co mmuni ty Pa rk s wi ll in c lu de a baseball /so ft ba ll dia mo nd , a soccer fi e ld. te nni s
court s, a bas ketball court, four to fi ve ac res of lawn , n.s to 1.0 mit e of wHl kwa ys , o ne play stru cture , onc co mfort
s ta lio n, parking lo ts , pi c ni c ta bl es, pi c ni c pavili o ns , benc hes . s ig na ge , sec uri ty li gillin g and la nd sc ape pla mings .
T he an n ua l ope ra ti o ll111 co s ts for th e In le t Va ll ey Pa rk Co mp lex wi ll in cl ud e tw o baseba ll l so ftb a ll diamo nd s, o ne
socce r licld , four tenni s co urt s, a ba sketba ll court , Ji ve acres of lawn , two mil es of wa lkway , I\vo play stnlc lur cs .
tw o co mfort stati ons, 0 .5 mjl es of road , two parkin g lo(s, four pi cni c pav ili ons, pi cnic tab les , benches , sig nagc ,
sec urit y lightin g and land sc ap e plan tin gs .
M()int cnan cc o f th e propo se d 20 +/-mil es of bi cyc le/pedes tri ans path s repr ese nt a potential add iti onal in crease in
a nnual ope ra ti ng COSIS of a pprox im ate ly $40 ,500 o r 28 % up o n co mpl e ti o n in the ye a r 20 17. T hi s would in c lu d e
SltHld ard ma int enance pra c ti ces Sti ch as mowing of lh c pat h edges tw o tim es pe r SC<.l so n and wi nter plowin g to kee p
the p.a th s op enl1 in g as tran sport ation ro ut es. As is lh e case with park s, the deve lop ment of th e path s is not exp ec ted
to be co mpleted all at on ce . l nstca d, fo r th e purpo ses Oflhi s plan, it is ass um ed that an avera ge of 2+/-mi les of
pa lh s will be d ev elo pe d pe r ye m . Thi s re p rese nt s , in 1997 dollars, an in c rea se in maime nance cos IS of $4 ,0 00 per
year for new bi cy cl e/peel estrian palll s.
The addi ti om]1 annu al maint e nan ce cos ts of lh e prop ose d new park s and new bicycl e/ pede strian path s envisioned
in thi s p la n, upon full impl e mentati o n, is esti mated 10 be approx im a te ly $1 5,00 0 in 19 97 dolla rs .
3. FUND .ING THE F UTURE: PARKS & RECREATIONAL FA C ILITIES
T he T ow n of Ith aca, to full y fund th e ca p it a l improve me nt s in park and rec rea t io n fac iliti es , inc lu d in g the proposed
ne tw o rk of bi cy cl e a nd pedes tri an path s, nee ds to inv es t appro xim a te ly $17 0,0 00 pe r year for th e nex ttwenly years .
Thi s is a sub stant.ia l com mitm e nt o f publi c res our Ces . It represe nt s a do ublin g of th e curr en t nne of inv es tm e nt in
park and ope n spa ce res ource deve lop ment . as re fl ec ted in lh e c urrent Park s Departm ent cHpi tal improv e ment
bud ge t .
I r fll nd ed s tri cll y throu g h prope rt y ta .< rev en ues , thi s ad di ti o na l co mmitme n t of pub li c funds would re s uli in an
in c rea se o f just und e r SO .13 pe r $1 ,DOO of a ssesse d va lua ti o n, or about $2 0 .00 pe r yea r fo r th e a ve ra ge ho meo wn e r
in th e Town. Thi s repr es ent s a 10% property la x rat e in crease , whi ch is an unpl Cilsan t and moreov er un necess ary
meas ure. There Me oth er mec hani s ms for fund ing, and ot he r sour ces o f revenu es to fu nd th e rec omm endat ions of
Ih is Plan. Th e fo llowin g sec ti ons outlin e a number o f th e alt e rnat ive fund in g mecila nisms HVHil ablc to th e To wn of
78
Ith aca . T oge th e r th ey re prese nt be twe en $3 ,35 5,000 and $3 ,565 ,O()O in pote nti a l fundin g fo r pa rk d eve lo pm e nt a nd
opens space rese rv ati on purpo ses.
Mai nt a in CUrI'cnt Fundin g Leve ls fOI" P:lrks Department Capit ill Project s
The c urrent level o f fundi ng fo r ea piUl I proj ects in th e Pa rk s Depanme nt's b ud ge t is $106.000 pe r YOl Ir. Thi s leve l
of fulldin g, ifma int a ill cd ove r th e nex t twe nty yc ars, wo uld tota l $2,12 0 ,000. T h is a mo unt re prese nt s 6 0 pe ree nl o f
the anti cipat ed $3 .3 5 milli on i n park and rec reati on faci lit ies in ves tm ent envisioned in thi s Pl an, In ord er for th e
full S 106 ,0 00 to be mad e a va i labl e for pa rk -re la ted ca pita l improve me nt s , it is suggested tha t budge t procedures of
th e P>lfk s De partme nt s ho ul d bc c h a nged . Whe n th e Parks De panmc nt d oes wo rk fo r oth e r Tow n age nc ies o r fo r
non-pa rk rel a ted pu rposes , th is w o rk s h o uld be bi ll ed to those age nc ies. T hc cos t o f th is wo rk wo u ld th e n be
refl ec ted i n th ei r bud ge ts and as a revenu e line in th e Park s Departm ent bud ge t. In effec t, th e park s fun cti on in th e
To wn Bud ge t wo ul d be give n morc recog niti on tind er thi s sce nario and specifi c par ks fun ction s co uld be more
acc urat ely trac ked in th e Bud get.
Fees in Lieu of Parl< Lan d
Th e To wn Boa rd in 1995 enac ted a loc al law definin g how th e Plannin g Bo ard ca n co ll ec t mone y in li eu of park
land dedicati on. Fees in lieu of parkland are permitt ed und er ce rt ain circum stances in Sec tion 277 of Towl1 Law
and in th e T ow n 's Subd ivision Regulati ons. Give n th e gro wth ex pec tati ons out l in ed in the 1993 Co mprehensiv e
P lan, the re co u ld be li p to 1,230 n e w hom es bui lt in th e TowlI of Ith"ca by 20 10 . These ho mcs a re ex pec ted to
rc quire s om e 600 ac rcs o f la nd .
Becl:IU se th is Plan ca nn ot anticip ate ex actl y wh ich land within th os e areas of antici pated futu re developm ent show n
on Ma p 3 -2 will be deve lo pe d in th e future, th e proj ec ti o n fo r fees ill li eu of park la nd has fir st been c al c u late d
based o n d eve lo pm e nt o f the 1,500 ac res id e ntifi ed on th e map . Us in g thi s sca le of d eve lo pmc nt , a nd co ns id e r ing
th e anti ci pat ed land dedicati ons required for tho se future park s shown in Tab le 9-1 and fl ltu re bi cycl e/pedes trian
fa c iliti es in Tab le 9 -2 , up to $400 ,000 in reve n ues is p oss ibl e ove r th e next two d ecades throu g h the fee in l ie u of
land mec hani sm. Howeve rl sin ce onl y ab oll t 40 to 50 perce nt of th e ac reage shown as potentiH I developm ent land
on Map 3-2 is li ke ly to be dc ve lope d , the fcc in lie u of re ve nu e e xpec ta ti o ns muSt be revised d ownwa rd .
Unde r t h e fee in lie ll o f la nd provis io n and th e g u id a nce prov id ed by thi s Pla n regard in g th e lo ca ti o n and s i ze o f
fULUr e pa rk l'lIld d edi cat io n s, the re is th e p ote lllial for be tween $16 0,000 a nd $20 0 ,0 0 0 be in g gene rat e d fo r pa rk
develo pm e nt purposes ovc r th e next two d ec ad cs. T hi s re prese nt s 5% to 6% of th e 'lnt ic ip a ted cost o f d eve lo pin g
T own pa rk s d u r i ng th a t tim e .
79
Donat ions From Indi vid uals a mi Group s
Pri Vcll C supp ort fo r th e deve lop me nt of publi c park s a nd th e pr eserva ti on or ope n Spt:lCC is a lo ngs ta ndin g tr adition
in Amer ica. Indi vidu a ls, bu sin esses, and frat erna l org<wi za tion s in many co mmuniti es ac ro ss th e co untry ha ve
co ntri buted sub sta ntial sum s to park and re creati onal facility deve lopm ent and open Sp il CC pr eserva ti on. Suc h
a ss istan ce has tak e n th e for m of direc t finan c ia l co ntribution s, land , material s, lab o r. or a co mbinati on th e reo f.
Loca ll y, Robe rt H. Trema n State Pa rk, Butterm ilk Fa ll s Stat e Pa rk, and th e Newman Arbore tum a re pe rhaps th e
mos t out standin g exa mpl es of th e potentia l for private aSSiSltlnC e in the dev el o pm e nt of ou tdoor rec rcilti onal s pa ce .
Another ou tsta nding exa mpl e o f th e po te nti ,ll for pri vCl te suppo rt of park a nd recreationa l faci lity deve lopm e nt is
Th e Rink , new ly co nSlnJ c ted in t he Town ofL(l ll sin g . Alt oge th c r morc than 50% of it s $I .S mil li on cos t W(lS
cove red through do na t ions of cas h, mate ri als , and labo r co ntribut ed by over SOO indi vidu als and bus in esses .
Anoth e r exa mpl e is th e pa vi li on rece ntl y co nstru c ted a t Co ddin g ton Roa d Co mmunity Ce nt e r in a joi nt
T own/Co mmuni ty Ce nt e r effort . A n a no nymous do na ti on of $1 0,000 covered th e purc hase ma te ri a ls for th e new
s tru c tur e. A Yo uth Con se rva ti on Corps tea m, with as iS I:m cc fr om th e Tow n Pa rk s Department , was res pons ibl e
for th e bulk ofth c co nstnl ction work . And Co mm uni ty Center vo lunt ee rs fini shed th e stru c tur e.
Tab le 9 -3. Es tim ~lt ct1 Costs of So m e Park CO mlJ On cn ts with Hi gh Donllti o n Potential.
Numbl.;:r Es tim a ted Cos t
Par k Compone nt Envisioned (1995 $s)
Play sln lctur es t 2 $180 ,000
Picni c pavi lio ns 2 $38,500
Picnic tab le::; 55 $45 ,0 00
Pa rk ben che s 80 $40 ,000
Land sc api ng --lr ee pla ntings 200 $60 ,000
Landsca ping -:.:hnl b plnnlin gs 500 $48 ,000
Al hlel ic li eld s pt!ctCllo r bl!!ul:hers I I $23,000
Ba sc btl ll dia mond b(U!kstop, win g fc nct.:s 5 $40,500
TOTAL $475,000
T he Town or Ithaca ha s made o nl y li mi ted u sc o r pri va te gift g iv in g to deve lo p it s park s ystem . Eve n so, it has
rea li zed s ub stantia l cos t savings in t he d eve lo pm ent of it s park and rec reati o n sys te m . In th e case o r th e Sout h Hill
Recrea tio n way loca l indu s t ry co ntribut ed m ore than S50,Oll0 to th e p roject th ro u g h do nation s o r rig ht-o r-way o r
redu cti on in th e sa le pric e of ri g ht-or-way. Th e rm , fn e. donat ed an case me nt to th e T ow n ove r approximately 7,5
KO
acres land for th e So uth Hi ll Rec reati on Wa y_ Should th e Town hnve had to pur chase the land , it co uld have cost in
excess of $30 ,000 . In additi o n, New Yo rk S tale Elec tri c and Gas Co rpo rati o n agreed to se ll th e TowlI o f Ith aca it s
po rti o n o f th e trail ri g ht-of-way fo r alm os t 50 perce nt less than apprai se d va lu e . It is reco mm e nd ed that th e Town
beg in a morc agg ress ive approach to tap th e pote nti al for gift s of mon ey , mat eria ls, lab or, and where (lpp rOprial c.
la nd , as it d eve lo ps it s pmk a nd recreatio na l faci lit ies in th e co min g yea rs. The potemia l cos t sav in gs arc
significan t. Th e pl ay stru ctur es , pi c ni c pa vili o ns, pi cni c tabl es and benches env is ioned for th e park s pr oposed in
thi s plan are exa mp les o f improve me nt s that cou ld be d o nate d to th e Town of Itha ca . T he es ti ma ted cos t o f th ese
and ot her co mp onent s is. Th e "fri end s of th e parks " citizen groups pr opose d in Chtlp ter Fi ve co uld serve ,I ll
important role in co ordimlti ng any T own park s gift pr og ram .
Gnmt F un ding
A lth oug h th e opportuniti es for th e acquis iti on of Sla te or federal grant s ha ve bee n great ly redu ce d ove r th e pas t
sevc ral yea rs, th e use of such so urces for in ves tm ent in park infrl:lS lm Clllrc should not be ml cd out. Wi th an
(l gg rcss ive apl>roach to grant ac qui si tion , th e Town of Itha ca co uld safe ly aSS UlllC that be twee n 20 and 25 perce nt of
future park and rec rea tio n improvement s would be fund ed with outside money , T hi s repre se nts betwee n $670 ,000
a nd $840 ,000 in o uts id e fundin g .
With adoption of th is Plan , th e Tow n wi ll be in a vcry co mp etiti ve posi ti on with regard to obta in ing grant fundin g,
Firs t. as fund ing for state and federa l grant progra ms has bee n redu ce d, more and mor e pro gram s ha ve beg un
usin g evid ence oFsound plHnning for co mlllunity park and rec rea ti onal needs base d on nat ionall y acce pt ed
standards as a majo r criteria in th e rev iew of gra nt app li cat ions. T hi s Plan has use d th e Na ti onal Recreatio n and
Park Associat ion standard s in ord er to ensure th e Town 's co mp etiti ve ness in thi s rega rd .
Seco nd , th is Plan, if imp le me nt ed , w ill prov ide th e Town of Itha ca with a pa ll e ll e o f ready to build park proj ec ts
wh ic h ca n be matc hed w ith app ropriate s tate or federal g rant pro g ram s. Tabl es 9-1 and 9-2 provide th e ba s ic
pr og ramati c lmd des ign param eters of severd l future pa rk s and rec rea ti on ways for wh ich th e Town alrecldy ow ns
Ih e land . Thi s is a very important clement in th e effo n to acquir e out sid e gra llt rundin g. Sin ce 1990 th e To wn of
Itha ca has ac tu a ll y h ad to forego p<lfti c ipa ti o n in a number of g rant prog mm s, in cluding IST EA gra nt s for
co nstru cti o n of mu c h nee ded bi cyc le/pedes trian fac ilit ies , because it lacked projec ts t hat we re "ready to go."
By deve lop in g prelim i nary des igns and ga ining co mm unity co nse nsus rega rdin g th e desig n of those parks now.
llnd by a nnuall y includin g ll dequa te fundin g fo r ca pilll i imp rove me nt s , th e T ow n ca n posi ti o n it se l f to qui c k ly
res pond to grant opp ortunitie s such as future I STEA or simil ar grant prog ram s.
8 1
Bonding Large Capit;lI Improvements
An opti on open to the Town for spreading th e cos t of so me park projects ove r man y yea rs is to borrow mon ey
throug h bonds. T hi s option co uld be use ful w he n th e T own deve lops one o r mo re of th e large r ca p ita l projects
pro posed i n thi s plan , su c h 11S th e co mm unity parks . By us ing bonds to finan ce th e proj ects , th e T ow n cou ld s pre ad
th eir cos ts over a le n, fifteen , or (\y enty yea r peri od.
A n exa mpl e. of a pr ojec t for which th e Town of ithH ca ma y li se bondin g to finan ce park improvem ent s wo uld be th e
large r co mp onents of th e proposed Inl et Va ll ey Pa rk Co mpl ex li s ted in Table 5-1. These co mp o ne nt s --th e
baseba ll and socce r fi eld s. tenni s COllrtS , co mfort stati ons, clnd ro ad and par kin g fac iliti es --rcpr csc nl an
inv es tm c nt o f $400,00 0 .
If fin ance d thr oug h a fift cc ll Mye ar bond , at aninlcrcs t ralc 0[70/0 , th e an nu al debt se rv ice pay ment s co uld begin at
$50 ,000 pcr yca r fo r th c fir st seve n years, but drop to $35,000 by th e twe lfth year, and to $2S ,OOO th e las t yea r.'
The cos t of inte rest for bonding th c above impro ve me nts wou ld add a pprox imat ely $225 ,000 to the ove ra ll pr oj ec t
cos t. Mo reove r, th e annua l debt service ge nera ted by suc h a bond would con sum e lip to on e-ha l f of t he Park s
Departm ent 's annual ca pital improv e me nt budge t pr oposed ea rli er in Ihi s sec ti on.
Howeve r, pnld e nt usc of bondin g docs provide th e Tow n ncxi bilit y in imp le me ntin g a cap it al imp rovc ln e nl s
prog ram . One specific benefit is lhallh c use of bo nding for lar ger projec ts wou ld a ll ow tll C Town to co mpe te
e ffec ti ve ly for large g ra nts. In th e in SLan ce of th e Inl et Va ll ey Park Co mpl ex , a Town co mmitment to Fund
$400 ,000 or mo re of th e estimated $750 ,000 cos t of th e proj ec t co uld ma ke a g rant a ppl ica ti on for th e re m aining
$350 ,000 very co mpe titi ve . Eve n wh e n ta kin g into account U,e cost of bo nd int e res t, th e resultin g bo nd/gra nt
pa c kage would actuall y r edu ce th e to tal cos t to th e T own of Ith aca of deve lopin g th e park by $100 ,000 . ($750,000
+ $225 ,000 bon d interest -$350,000 g ra nt = $625 ,000 ne l cost 10 Town .)
User Fees
User fees dedi ca ted to offsetting the cos ts o f d eve loping and maintaining muni c ip a l parks are il wide ly accept ed
so urce of reve"ue in co mmuniti es ac ross th e co untry . Loca ll y th e City of Ithaca coll ects use r fees for usc of th e
three C ity ownedpavillions I a t Cass Park and 2 at S tewa rt Pa rk ). For pav ill ion rcnl1l ls in 1994 , the City co ll ec ted
approxi ma tely $14 ,000 .
3 Whi l ~ u 20-ycu r bo nd !';ould rt.!~m lt in lowe r unnua l bond puymt:n ts ullt.!r lhl! first five years , the cost ~v ings in lenns of
intt:r~st bt.!tween a IS-ye ar tlOd iI 20-yellr bo nd wou ld be approximate ly $48,000 .
~2
Th e City also co ll ec ts fees from vH ri ous sport s leag ues , primar il y to cove r utilit y and IlUl int enl:ln cc co s ts associa ted
with usc o f th e mhl eti c fi eld s. In 1994 , app roxi mat ely $15.000 was co ll ec ted fr om lh e Ith aca Amat eur Sofiba ll
Leag ue, th e Ov er 30 Leag ue, and th e Senior s Leag ue, Addi ti o nall y, deve lopmen t of athl eti c fac iliti es as propo se d
in th is Plan , will th e n beco me avai lab le to the ge neral publi c. Fees may be cha rge d for Ut e use of th ese fa ciliti es
simili ar to what th e city is cu rr entl y chargin g.
Impli ci t in th is Pla n is th e ass umpti on th at , wi th th e exce ption of lh e rental o f pa rk pavi li o n or alh leti c facilili es for
exc lu sive use by indi vidu als or organi za ti ons, the Town 's park sys tem wou ld be fr ee Hnd open to th e ge neral
publi c, rega rdl ess ofrcs idency statu s. Thi s is a con tinuation of t he exist ing Town poli cy , as well as th e tradit io nal
Cit y of Ith aca poli cy wi th regar d to Hccess to it s park s. T hi s Plan in no wa y reco mm end s any change in the
exis Lin g Town poli cy .
Intcrmuni cillal Partnerships
Joint partn ers hi ps wit h oth er municipalitie s are anoth er poten ti al so ur ce of reve nu es for park and ope n spa ce
deve lopm ent Curr enll y th e Ci ty of Ith aca and seve ral surroundi ng Illuni cipaliti es in Tompkin s co unty hav e
e nt ere d int o th e Rec reat ion Pannership pro gra m. T he purpose o f this partn e rsh ip is to provid e res id e nt s of
memb cr muni cip aliti es wi lh access to th e fu ll ran ge of Ith aca Youth Burea u pr og rams at memb er rat es .
Th e Ci ty a nd Town are co mmitted to j o intl y d ev elop th e proj ec ted bik eway be twee n th e Sou th Hill Rec rea tion Way
at Hud so n Sir ee t a nd Buu ermil k Fa ll s Slate Park.(Tab le 9-2)
Anolh er opp o rtunit y partn e rship with th e Ci ty of Itha ca ex ists on Wes t Hill. T he pr opose d West Hill Com munilY
park is im media te ly adj ace nlto th e city. Mor eover, th e CilY of It ha ca Wes l HilI Mas te r Plan reco mm en ds th at th e
pa rk se rve the nomlC rn ponion o f th e Wes t Hill neig hb or hood .
5. FUNDING OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION
To fu nd th e prop ose d effort to pre se rve it s ag ri culturally , viSllilll y and eco logica l imp ortant la nd s throu g h a
purchase of dcve lopm ent ri ght s (PDR) pro gram , th e Town would require an in vest ment of .a n ave rage of about
$2 40 ,000 per year ove r the nex t two decades . Th is a mount wou ld cove r th e cos t of deve lop me nl ri g ht acq uisi li on
and associ at ed clos in g cos ts of such a pro gra m. It also (l SS UJl1 CS a 10 0 percent parti cipmi on rate amongs t eli gib le
prop ert y owners ove r th e life o f th e program . To fund th e propo se d purcha se of deve lopm en l ri g ht s pro gra m, th e
Town of !ih aca shou ld estab li s h a spec ia l 2 1st Ce ntury Open Space Fund dedi ca ted to implem e ntin g Ih e
propo se d program .
83
T he re~son ro r usi ng "2 1st" ce ntu ry is sim ple: th e in vest ment by th e Tow n in purc hasi ng th e deve lopm e nt ri g h ts to
il s ag ri cultur all y and eco log ic,1I1 y significant land reso urces now, on th e eve o f th e 2 1st ce ntur y , wi ll benefit T ow n
res ide nt s we ll into th e 2 1st ce ntury and beyo nd . [1 \vill pro vide as a legacy to futur e Town res id ent s many of th e
wid e ex pan ses of open spa ce, th e sce ni c vistas , and uniqu e natural areas tr eas ur ed by res ide nt s of today.
Th c 2 1st Century O(>en Sp"ce Fund co uld be fund ed thr oug h a co mb inati on of To wn ~ppropriati o n s ~nd pri vat c
dona ti ons. T he reco mm end ed I11 cc h;:lni slll for impl ementin g th e 2 1st Ce ntur y Ope n Space Funt! is a combin ati on
of dedi c<:lI cd sa les lax and pro pert y lax reve nues .
It is ant ic ipat ed th at a purcha se of developm ent ri ght s pro gram will ha ve to be p':lrti all y finan ce d thr ough th e
nOtHin g of bond s. Thi s appro ac h \vo uld g iv e th e Tow n the ability to ac quir e th e deve lop me nt ri ght s 10 a large
proporlion of th e e li gibl e land s withi n th e three to rour yea rs or peak prog ram ac tiv it y. Thi s peak ac ti v ity ca n be
ex pec ted so metim e durin g th e third thr ough seve nth yea r o r th e prog ram. In the roll owin g ye ar s, the leve l of
purc hase or deve lo pm e nt ri g ht s ac ti vi ty is expec ted to be mu ch redu ce d --one or tw o ease me nt s cove rin g lO O to
150 ac res pe r ye ar . Thi s ex pec tati on is base d on the expe ri e nce or s imil ar gove mm e nt-spo nsore d PD R pro grams in
Massac huse tt s and Pe nn sy lva ni a .
Whi le th e ave ra ge annu a l outla y ro r ~ PD R prog ram is projec ted to be a pp roxi mately $240,000. in so me ye ars
pr og ram cos ts arc ex pec ted to be s ig nifi c(lnll y hi gher, es pCcil:l ll y durin g th e third lhr ough seve nth yea .rs or th e
pr og ram. Thi s is du e to th e ex pcc hlli o l11hat th e grea tes t out lays for deve lopm ent ri ght s purchases will be durin g
t he fir s t se vera l yea rs of th e pr og ra m. Annual prog ram outl ays co uld excee d $5011 ,OO() to $600 ,000 du rin g th e 2 to
3 ye ms o r peak activit y. It is durin g th ese ye ars th a t bo ndin g will be necessary .
Ge nera tin g Revenue for th e 21st Ce n t ury 0l.en SI."ce Fund
O ne of two re co mm e nd ed so urces or fundin g for th e propose d ope n space fund is th e additi o nal revc nu e stream
ge nerate d by th e increase in th e loca l sal es tax rrom 7% to 80/0 in 1993 . Th e Tow ll or Itha ca ,lll oc at cd Ul e
addit io na l revenu es ge ne rat ed by th c incre ase d sales tax to a spec ial ca pit a l fund . Ove r th e pas t three yea rs, th ese
~l dditi o na l sa les tax reve nu es have ave ra ge d appr ox imat e ly S20 0,OOO per ye ar .
Thi s addition al sa les telX reve nu e has bce n ea nnark ed for co nslnJ cti o n o f a new Tow n Hall , sc hedu led for
co mpl etion in 1999 . Bey ond 1999, howeve r, th e Town o r Ith aca co uld all oc ate th ese revenu es towa rd a purc hase o r
deve lopm e nt ri g ht s pr og mln .
Depe ndin g on a numb er of va riabl es, includin g th e am ollnt of a nd timin g of bo ndin g to finan ce th e prog null , th e
ru ll $2 00,000 in sa les tax reve nues wo uld be neede d ror be tw ee n nine a nd thirt ee n yea rs, or until th e yc ar 2007 or
84
20 0 S. Afte r that th e need w ould drop to $100,0 00 fo r o n e o r tw o yea rs , a nd to ze ro do ll a rs fo r the re ma ind e r of the
pr og ram.
T ota l a mo unt o f sa les tax reve nu e required by th e PD R p rog ra m is proj ec ted to be be twee n $1.9 a nd $2 .5 ; to be
a ll oca tc d durin g th e fi sca l ycms fro m 1998 thro ug h 2008 . Aga in th e a mo unt o f sales tax mo n ies w hi c h w ill be
requ ired is depe nd e nt up on morc pr ec ise progra m sc hedulin g and fin anci ng infor mati o n.
Th e scco nd so urce o f fund s wo uld be a 15 mil ($0 .15/$1,000) in c rease i n p rope rt y taxes . T he a d di ti o na l reve nu es
gene ra te d --a n es tim a ted $10 5 ,0 00 based 0 11 the tota l va lu e o f taxa bl e p rope rty in th e T own of Ith aca in 1995 -
wo ul d be dedi clil ed to th e pro posed 2 1 st Cen tu ry Ope n S pace Fund. The te rm of th e a ddi t iona l 15 mi l levy wo u ld
be 20 yea rs , or thro ug h th e yea r 20 17 . T he COS t o f thi s ad d it io nal tax levy wo uld be a bo ut $22.50 pe r year fo r th e
ave rage To wn homeow ne r". D urin g th ai tim e , it wo uld ge nerate app rox inul le ly $2 .1 milli o n in reve nu es . After
200S th e Fund ba lance , with th e a nnua l 15 mi ll levy , wi ll be ab le to s up po rt th e P DR progra m to it s co mple ti o n
with ollt sa les lax reve nu es .
No te th a t Ih e projec ted ra tes of d evelo p me III ri g ht s ac qui s it io n s ho u ld be conside re d ave ra ge ra lcs. In so me yea rs
the leve l ofa cqui sili on <lCliv ily lIl ay fall below th e pr ojec ted leve l. Thi s is cs pCciH lI y po!;!;ihl c in rh e: fir I few yea rs
of th e program . Shoulcllh e ta rge t rate for any year or se ri es of yea rs not be met, howeve r. th e fund s should be
car ri ed Ove r for futur e usc .
There may also be yea rs in whic h Ih e numb er o f la nd ow ners who wis h to parti cipat e in Ih e prog ram, and lh e v::l iu c
of Ih e prop en ies offere d for case me nt acqui si ti on , exceed th e To wn 's rund ing reso urces . The stalc purc hase of
deve lopm e nt right s pr og ram in Massac hu se tt s has es tab li s hed crit cria for eva lu atin g whi ch pr ope rti es rece ive
pri or ity each yea r. Such a syslc m s hou ld be se t up in th e Tow n of Ith aca . In yc<'l rs in whi ch th ere are mo re
p rope I1j es Ul a n Clln be acco mmo da ted by th e progra m, th ose wh ic h score lowe r i n a nyon e year wo u ld be p rocesse d
as fundi ng beco mes a v a il a bl e.
La nd ow ner Participation Rat e
The above projec tio ns for th e cos t of a purc hase of develop ment ri g hts progra m ass um e a 10 0 pe rce nt par ti ci pCl tio n
ra le by la nd own e rs ove r Ih e course o f th e progra m . T he pa rti c ipati o n rale by la nd owne rs w illlllosilike ly be th e
p rim ary va ri a bl e in Ih e IO ta l co s t o f Ih e p roposed progra m . S in ce il wo uld be a vo lu n tary p rog ram, no t a ll
land own e rs arc ex pec ted to take ad va nt age of it.
" Thi s is based on an uvcra gc home va lue oJ' $150 ,000 .
85
In areas where there have be en gove rnm e nt~s p o n so red PDR pro grams in phi ce for five or more yea rs, pa rti cipa ti on
rates have va ri ed sig nifi ca ntl y. However th e stat e fund ed program in MClssac hu se tl s is approac hi ng a 100%
pa rti ci patio n rate by ow ners of tar gc lcd land s in a num be r of town s . The pr og ram there is appro ac hin g its
tw e ntie th yea r and has protect ed app roximately 40.1l00 acres of land.
The Town o f Ith aca s hou ld s tri ve to ensure a 100 perce nt panicipation rate in it s progra m . A lth ou g h less th an f ull
pmlic ipali on would result in reduced pro gra m expenditures, th e e nd resu lt wo uld be a pat chwo rk o f p ro tec te d and
unp rotected land s. Thi s wou ld be especia ll y tru c if th e par ti cipa ti on rate were betw ee n 50 to 66 perce nt or less .
Cos t of Deve lopment Rights vs . Cnst of Public Water and Sewer Infras tru cture.
As expe nsiv e as lh e above ·d esc rib cd in iti ati ve may see m, it s cos t is we ll be low when th e Tow n of hh acl:l cou ld pa y
to ex tend pub li c wa ter and sewc r to lh c areas being co nsid ere d for PDR , Indi cat iv e of th e savings po ssi bl e in ter ms
of reducing th e nee d for Fu tur e expe ndi tur es for publi c wa ler and sewe r i,u ras lru ctu re is the exis tin g Dre""
subdivi s ion al th e wes tern edge of th e Town , Beca use of wa ter qua lit y probl e ms res id ent s of Ih e area l\(lve
petitio ned th e Tow n Board for an ex te ns io n of publi c wate r to th e area ,
The cost of ex te nding pub li c wa te r to Uti s iso la ted deve lopm e nt, whic h wo uld se rve app roxi matel y 70 ho mes, is
esti ma tcd to be nea rly $2 mill ion . We re t he Town ab le to p urc ha se th e developm e nt ri g hts to th e approximate ly
150 acres on whi ch Ih ose homc sit prior to th eir co nstru cti on thos e deve lopm e nt ri ght st at loda y's va lu es , wou ld
tOLa I abo ut $150,000 .
6. C ON CLUS ION
The es tim ated inve slm cIlln CCeSS31)' to full y impl ement th e reco mm end ati ons of this PI,ln over th e nex t tw o
decades is $7. I milli o n: $3.4 million for new pa rk s a nd b icy cle and pedestrian li nkages: a nd $3 .7 mi ll ion for a
PDR pro g ram. Tabl e 9-4 s umm arizcs th e a nti c ipated cos ts fo r the vario us co mpon e nt s of thi s Pla n. This fi b""e
rep rese nt s th e cos t, in 1997 doliar s, of th e propo se d land acqu isiti ons , capital imp roveme nts and pur chase of
deve lopmen t ri g hts needed to c reate th e pmk, rec reatio n a n d ope n s pa ce sys te m e nv is io ned in th is Plan . Of th is$7 .1
m illi o n inves tm e nt , the T own of Itha ca can ex pec t to fund be t wee n $5.8 a nd $6 .0 milli o n, with th e re m a ining $1.1
to $1,3 milli on co min g from grant s and pri va te co nt ribu ti ons. In addit ion to l he above inve stment , th e Tow n ca n
anticipate a co mmitm en t o f up to $2 .3 milli on ove r th e nex t two decades to maintain it s publi c park an d
bicycle/ped estrian pa th sys te m a nd lip to $400 ,000 t o adm ini s ter a PDR pro g r am .
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Table 9-4. Anticillatctl Costs of Implementin g Plan, by Plan Co mponent.
Est imat ed
Pl an Compone nt Cos t
CHpita l impr ove ment.; to existing lin d fut ur e pnrks $1 ,6 00 ,000
Bicycl e and pedes trian path ck:vcl op mcnt $1 ,800 ,000
Cu mul Hti ve pur k ope ra tion and maintenan ce cos ts throu gh 2017 .-$2 ,300 ,000
Purchase of Deve lop me nt Rights (PDR) pro gram (m;quisit io n) $3,700 ,000
Ad mini struti vc I.:o sts or PDR prog ram thr ough 20 18 $40 0,000
II< Totul cos t, induding cos ts for exis ting park s an d bi cych!/pt.::d t!'~triun path s.
Alt oge th er th e cos t to th e Town of Ith aca of impl e mentin g and maintainin g th e park and open s pa ce sys tem
e nv is ion ed in thi s Pl a n , ove r th e ncx llwe n ty years. is ex pec ted to be betw ee n $8 .5 and $8 .7 milli o n. Wh i le thi s is a
sub stantial slim of mon ey. on a per capit a basis it turn s ou lto be a modes t inv es tm e nt. Thi s Plan e nvisions an
ex pe nditure by Town tax pa ye rs of an ave ra ge of $25 to $27 per res id e nt , per year, for th e ne xt twe nt y years . [n
term s of in c reased prop e rty ta xes , th e cos t to lh e average Tow n homeowner is ex pected to be about $38 per year ,
In re turn , thi s and future ge ne rati ons o fres idclllS wi ll enjoy th e benefits ofa co mpr e he ns ive pa rk ('Ind ope n space
sys tem that wo uld provid e adequ ate fa cili ties to mee t th e ir rec reat ion al nee ds and pr eserve th e ag ri cultural and
uniqu e eco log ical and sce nic reso ur ces of th e Town of Ith aca . Mo reove r, th e reco mm e nd ed acti o ns Oflhi s Pl a n {lre
in ves tm e nt s that will ge nerate very tan g ibl e rel urn s, for a ll T ow n residents , now a nd for man y ge ne rati ons to co me,
Fin all y, it mu s t be rememb ered Ih ,1\ th e impl ementation of mu ch o f thi s Park , Recrea ti on a nd Opcn Space Pl an is
co ntin ge nt on th e future population growth a nd deve lopmen t a nti cipa ted in th e 1993 Town of Ith aca
Comprehensive Plan , Th is deve lopm ent will bot h provi de for 1110st of th e futur e park and ope n space ac qui siti o ns
in the T own , and co ntribute to th e Cost ofp.uk deve lopm e nt throu gh an e nhan ce d ta x ba se .
Plan for seven generations.
Iroquois proverb